Transfomers: The Final Frontier
by CherryXButterfly
Summary: During the Third World War, all records of alien contact were lost. But contact with Cybertron is resumed when the USS Constellation is attacked. On the ship is Lieutenant Sam Witwicky. AU StarTrek crossover post DOM
1. Prolouge

**Hey there! It's Shay back with a new story. Now, this one combines my two favorite movies of all time, Transformers and StarTrek. Just imagine the sci-fi greatness!**

**The Cybertronians won't show up for a while, but they defiantly will. I'm going to use a girl Sam, just for the fun of it, and because it can give a fun overprotective Will keeping Jim away from her. **

**These are just warnings, so if you don't like it, don't read it. I don't want any flames, because I'm doing this for fun. Anyone who sends flames will be shot. Repeatedly. So please review if you like it.**

**I don't own Transformers or StarTrek, but I sure wish I did.**

**In the Beginning…**

After the Battle of Chicago, and the peace created between the Decepticons and the Autobots, Earth became a peaceful place. The long war was finally over, and Cybertron was being rebuilt, through the combined forces of the Autobots and the Decepticons. The endless war finally ended.

The humans became used to the presence of the Cybertronians, although many of them still feared them. Their human allies fought long and hard for them to be seen as equals in the eyes of the world governments. Samuel Witwicky quickly became the official liaison for the Cybertronians, while William Lennox and Robbert Epps supported them. All three of the men managed to have families in the days of peace.

But as time passed, the humans began to age. However the youngest was the first they lost. Samuel died in a car crash at age forty two, leaving behind Carly and his son Aden. William died of natural causes at eighty, leaving Annabell and her husband behind. Epps died at fifty five of a heart attack.

The Autobots had been unable to take the deaths of their human friends. Samuel's death had been the hardest, and Bumblebee had been left with the guilt of his charge dying. In reality, all of the Autobots on Earth had felt overwhelming guilt at Samuel's death.

But with his passing came the amazing discovery. The Allspark was found on Cybertron, perfect and whole. The allies both sides had lost had been returned to them. But they had left Earth by that time. William died before Ironhide was reborn, so the mech was unable to say goodbye. But for the revived Autobots, Sam's death had been the hardest to swallow.

So with this overwhelming guilt in mind, Optimus Prime cut all connections to Earth so they could finally mourn. Years passed, and then decades. After a few centuries had passed, the newest generation had been born to Cybertron, with no memories of the war.

And no memories of Earth.

But Earth had progressed without Cybertron. What the Cybertronians did not know was that there had been the third world war, leading to near total nuclear annihilation. But wonders had happened after. First contact had happened in the middle of nowhere Minnesota. The humans had met with the Vulcan race, and from this encounter, world peace grew. The Federation of Earth was created, and man king spread out to make allies with foreign worlds. Soon the Federation of Worlds was made, and the main military force was stationed on Earth.

It was called Star Fleet.

But no mention of contact with Cybertron survived the third world war, and it was quickly forgotten about. But fate had other plans, and man kind and the Cybertronians were destined to cross paths again.

**The next chapter will be longer. I'll try to get it up soon. **

**Please review!**


	2. First Contact Arc: I

**Say hello to Sam, Jim, Will and Epps in this! The first of a really long story that feels like it will never end. This is just an intro to everyone else, but I hope you enjoy re-meeting every one. **

**Also, does anyone have any good ideas for the name of an alien race, or even a planet? I need one for a much later chapter. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**First Contact I**

James Tiberius Kirk was a hero. He had saved the world from crazy Romulans, managed to get to be captain of the _Enterprise_, and was leaving on a five year mission to explore the universe. So why was it so hard to convince this one person to do what he wanted?

Jim had know the girl since his second year at Star Fleet. Samantha Witwicky, an engineer in Star Fleet, was the one woman Jim knew he never had a chance with, even if he actually tried to enter a relationship with her. They had met in basic self defense, and Jim had been amazed by Sam. Or at least that's what they told everyone else.

She wasn't tall, in fact she was barely five foot three inches. Curly brown hair hung to her chin with bangs falling above shy hazel eyes. Her mouth was always in a sort of half smile. What she didn't make up for in brawn, she made up for in brain. She was the top of their class, well, she was right after Jim. And her most amazing attribute was her calling to civil rights of all species. Sam would have made an amazing captain.

Which was the problem.

Sam had a huge inferiority complex. When responsibility was handed to her, Sam took control and shone. But she was terrified of taking on tasks and failing at them, often making her look meek and weak willed when near other students. But Jim had seen her powerful personality take over, especially when cadets harassed other species.

And now Sam was packing to leave the Academy, to take her place on a ship that wouldn't appreciate her, a ship where she would be an ensign forever. All because Sam didn't like taking responsibility.

"So," Jim began, sprawled out across what used to be Sam's bed, "What ship are you assigned to?"

Shrugging as she packed her dress uniform, Sam offered him a brilliant smile, "The _Constellation_. It's a scientific ship, so I won't be seeing any combat. But because of the lack of other ships, we'll also be doubling as an ambassador ship."

Jim's eyes narrowed, recognizing what Sam was trying to avoid, "So basically, you're on a non-combat ship as an engineer. Where you'll never get recognized because nothing bad will ever happen to you while your in engineering."

Sam's smile became a little more awkward, "Well, yeah. That's the whole point Jim. And don't try to convince me to become a Star Fleet captain. I'm not cut out for leading others. I'm much happier being the messenger."

Jim frowned. Sam was meant to be more than a messenger, he just knew it. But it didn't matter, because she had finished packing and was heading out to her post on the _Constellation_, while he would be on the _Enterprise_.

Sam finished packing her bag and tossed it over her shoulder before walking across the room to give Jim a kiss on the cheek and a hug goodbye.

"I'll miss you James Kirk," Sam whispered, "Try to get along with your second in command. I'm sure Mr. Spock has the best of intentions under his Vulcan shell."

Jim let out a weak smile before hugging her back, "And I'll miss you Samantha Witwicky. You're more than a messenger, and I hope you learn that one day."

Sam pulled back and with a quick smile and a little wave she walked out the door and into her new life. Jim just lay on his place in her old bed, staring at the room. It was bare now, but Jim could remember when the desk was covered in diagrams as Sam tinkered out a new coolant system, when she had Star Charts posted across the walls, and how ethics books had once been spread across the floor. But no pictures of her family, because Sam was running from something in her past, which was why she was in Star Fleet. And Jim understood better than anyone how dark her past was.

Rolling to his feet, Jim started out of the room. Traveling down the hallway and out onto the quad, he started for Pike's office. He had to report before taking the new ship, mostly because the Admiral was convinced Jim would destroy his baby. Arriving at Pike's officer, Jim did the natural thing.

He just barged in.

Jim froze, eyes on the three figures standing in the room. Pike sat behind his desk, looking exhausted in his wheelchair. Across from him stood two men in command gold.

One was a frazzled looking soldier with close cut brown hair, dark eyebrows, and light blue eyes. The light stubble of five o'clock shadow stood out on his face. Captain's stripes decorated his uniform.

The other one was a large black man. His shaved head and serious dark brown eyes didn't take away from the sardonic smile gracing his face. His stance was relaxed and he seemed sure of himself.

Jim blinked, before waving, "Um…hi there."

Pike ran a hand through his hair as he let out a groan, "Jim, this is Captain William Lennox, and Commander Robert Epps. Men, this is Captain…"

"James Kirk," Lennox finished, a smile crossing his face, "I've heard about you."

Jim shrugged, trying to look bashful, "Well, it's what happens when you save the world. Now, what's up?'

Lennox and Epps shared a look, before Epps answered.

"Our lead engineer just…well…he killed someone and is now in jail for life," Epps explained with a casual shrug, "And you think you know a guy."

Jim blinked, before turning to Pike who sighed, "They are requesting a new head of engineering before they take off today. But everyone is already assigned, so there's no one able to go to the _Constellation_."

Jim couldn't help the maniacal grin on his face from spreading, "I know someone perfect for the position."

Pike looked amused, "Really Jim? And who would that be?"

"Ensign Samantha Witwicky," Jim said, "She was the top of her class, engineering major, and is already assigned to the _Constellation_."

Lennox gave a shrug, "I'll take her if she's good enough to be in a command position."

"She is," Jim told them, feeling a proud grin spreading across his face, "She was the one who organized the protests against the Orion slave traders two years ago. Not to mention the fact that she's extremely dedicated. If you ask Sam to do it, she'll do it perfectly."

Lennox and Epps shared a look, and Jim couldn't help but wish he was able to communicate with Spock like that one day. Then, after a moment of silence, Lennox turned to Pike and said, "We'll take her."

Jim couldn't help the grin he wore. Sam was destined for more than being the messenger, and Jim would sure of it.

(Three hours later on the _Constellation_)

Sam smiled to herself as she put the finishing touches on her room. All of her clothes were put away neatly in the drawers, her posters of the stars hung on the walls, and the few pictures she had were placed on the desk.

Sam had to admit, the room looked nice. Especially with the sketches she hung on her wall. The sketches were portraits of people she missed, and all of them were important. The one with the most detail was of a 1976 Camero, with a smiling young man standing next to it. Sam had managed to get her memories of her past life back when she was sixteen and left her house for the first time.

"How I miss you Bee," Sam whispered to the air.

"And who is Bee, Ensign?"

Sam jumped a little before turning around to stare at the man standing in her doorway. From the command gold and captain stripes, this was her new captain.

Saluting, Sam tried not to look as frazzled as she felt, "Captain Lennox! I wasn't expecting you…sir."

Lennox was struggling not to smile as he regarded her. The young girl's hair was sticking up every which way, either from it being curly or nerves. Lennox took a step into the room.

"At ease, Ensign Witwicky," Lennox said, and smiled once the girl relaxed, "I must admit, these are rather impressive sketches. I was unaware that you were interested in 21st century cars."

Sam shrugged, hoping that her captain wouldn't look at the third sketch to the left. The one of the whole NEST team, including Will and Epps, but without the Autobots, "Oh you know sir, engineer and stuff. Cars are all like…engineery."

Lennox nodded, and Sam felt dread forming in her stomach as she noticed he was studying the pictures. And when Lennox turned to regard her, Sam knew he'd noticed.

"Ensign," Lennox drawled as he stepped in close to her, "Care to explain why you have a sketch of myself and my second in command when neither of us has met you yet?"

Sam's eyes widened, "Um…."

Lennox turned to regard the terrified girl, and couldn't help the grin breaking across his face, "Honestly Sam, I'm disappointed. You draw all of us getting ready to head into battle, but leave out the Autobots?"

When she didn't react, Lennox frowned. He was starting to fear that he had broken the girl. Then a beaming smile crossed her face and she punched him in the shoulder.

"What the hell Will?" Sam snapped, happy that her old friend remembered his past life also, "Do you have any idea how scary that was? I thought you'd like…court martial me for stalking you or something! On my first day!"

Will just laughed, before pulling Sam in for a hug, "I missed you kid. Not having the alien magnet around made figuring out who the bad guys were so much harder."

Sam groaned, before punching him in the back, "You still suck."

Lennox continued to laugh, when the door whosed open. Jumping away from each other in the fear someone would view the reunion as fraternization and get them both in trouble. But they relaxed when they noticed Epps standing there with a huge smile on his face.

"Damn it Will," Epps growled out as he crossed the room and gave Sam his own bear hug, "You said you'd signal me after breaking the news to her so I could say hi! It's been way to long kid, I can't believe you came back as a girl."

Sam let out a groan at that reminder, "Don't bring that up, please. It sucks knowing that I was a guy, and am now…this. But how did you two find me?"

Epps let her go, and the two shared a look, before Lennox answered, "We went to Admiral Pike because our chief of engineering was just convicted of murder, and we needed a new one. Captain Kirk came in, and told us to place one Ensign Samantha Witwicky in charge."

Epps shrugged when Sam gave them an unbelieving look, "We remember…before. But we figured it was too big of a leap for Sameul Witwicky to be Samantha Witwicky. So we decided to ask you a few questions, ones only Sam would have known."

Lennox took over, "But when I saw your drawings, I just…knew it was you Sam."

Sam flushed, staring at the ground, "So, what happens now?"

Lennox smiled as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "You'll become my chief engineer, Epps my second in command, and I'll be captain. We'll become the best ship in the fleet, and maybe…we'll find Cybertron."

The three shared a look and Sam finally broke the silence after a while.

"Will, you do know that you'll be doing a lot of negotiating as an ambassador ship, right?'

Will groaned before banging his head against the bulk, while Sam and Epps shared a smug look.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	3. First Contact Arc: II

**I'm so glad you guys like this story! It's been bouncing around in my head for a while.**

**Now, for why Sam's a girl. One, the Kirk factor. Will's a Starfleet captain, he's heard of Jim's ways around women. This will lead to fun times between Will and Jim later in the story on their way to Cybertron (much later on…) Sam's also a girl because the Allspark brought her back to life, along with Epps and Will. In humans, women represent life (who carries the babies?) so the one who's going to give life back to them is going to be a girl.**

**BrowneyedShammer, you can defiantly be the number one fan for this. **

**Also, any ideas for alien planet names? I need at least one for chapter twelve!**

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**First Contact II**

Two Years Later

The _Enterprise_ might be the best ship in the galaxy, but the _Constellation_ wasn't too far behind. The crew members on the ship quickly became used to the conditions the captain set forth, and if they didn't then they left ship quickly.

Captain Lennox ran his ship like the marines of the early 21st century. Each crew member had a minimum level of self defense they had to know, and it was not mandatory. Orders were followed to the dot no matter what they were. Except sometimes Lennox would delete an order on accident or they would loose a feed in an ion storm and he would do what was right, not what was ordered.

While Lennox kept them from court martial's, Commander Epps kept the ship running smoothly. Epps made sure each and every shift was manned, and at the end of the month a new shift schedule was posted. He made sure they arrived on time to all locations, be that scientific explorations or meetings with the ambassadors while they negotiated treaties. But no matter what, Epps made sure the crew was looked after and treated well.

But the crew knew they weren't the strangest part of the commanding officers. The other officers were incompetent, which was why Lennox and Epps pushed them all so hard. No, the strangest part was the other commanding officer how wasn't incompetent.

Lieutenant Witwicky was the head engineer, and she was a miracle worker. She was the only sane one out of the three competent officers. When Lennox and Epps got it into their heads to create another insane rule for training, Witwicky would call them idiots and say in her calm voice 'Normal people don't know three types of martial arts Will. One is just fine.' Witwicky kept the engines running in tip top shape, but she was also in charge of the ambassador duties. To the crew's amazement, she'd created more alliance than Lennox ever had, and she'd done it with more class.

If the crew had to guess, Witwicky used to be an ambassador before becoming an engineer.

Usually the three officers could be seen in the mess, not the officers mess but the regular one, talking to each other like they were old friends. Honestly, if the rest of the officers weren't incompetent, then they defiantly would have beaten the _Enterprise_ in best command crew.

Sam frowned as she scrolled down the report on her data pad. Will had just sent her the knew information about the upcoming alien life forms they would be encountering on their next treaties talk and was expecting Sam to come up with the treaty in a matter of hours.

"I'm going to kill him," Sam snarled as she stormed through the corridor of the ship. Crew members quickly jumped out of her way, many of them giving respectful nods to her as she passed. After two years, they had finally stopped saluting her.

"Honestly," Sam grumbled as she entered the turbo lift, "I know Will was in charge public relations for NEST before I took over, he should be able to do this. And with three hours before the meeting with the Enochians. I never should have taken this job."

Sam continued to grumble as the turbo lift doors opened and she stepped into the engine of the ship. She couldn't help the tiny smile that graced her face as she listened to the hum of machinery. Sam never told anyone, but she felt almost normal around machines, and if she imagined hard enough they sounded like the familiar click and whirl of the Autobots.

Sam placed down her data pad and looked around the engine room. It seemed to be running smoothly, but Sam always liked to check. Especially because the last time she didn't an explosion from the warp core burned off both of her eyebrows.

"Mr. McMillan," Sam called out into the raging noise of the engine room, "Please report the current condition of the engines."

McMillan ran over to her side, oil spread across half his face and a wide beaming smile, "Lieutenant Witwicky! Everything is running…smoothly. The warp core is in working order, the dilithium crystal is powering the warp drive, and there have been no explosions. …Recently that is Miss Witwicky."

Sam offered him a slight smile, "Thank you Mr. McMillan. Now, I'm very sorry to tell you this, but our wonderful captain just dumped a new treaty on me. I'm going to be unable to supervise this shift in engineering, so I was wondering if you could fill in for me during this shift?"

McMillan was practically vibrating with excitement, "Of course Lieutenant! Anything you'd ask, we'll grant!"

Sam shook her head before picking up the data pad and heading back towards the turbo lift.

"I'm buying everyone a round of drinks next time we hit space dock!" Sam yelled back over her shoulder, and the cheers coming from inside made her laugh as she went back to work. She walked through the hallway towards her room, eyes focused on the data pad.

Sam had nearly reached her room when the ship jerked. It's difficult to explain the feeling to anyone who had never been on a Starship when under attack. Imagine one minute your standing on a perfectly flat surface, and the next your against a wall, with the ground shifting away from you. That was the feeling of a Starship under attack.

And that was what Sam was feeling as she smashed against the wall of the ship. Sam's eyes narrowed, and where panic would have kicked in during her years as a human male back in the early 21st century. But now Sam really was the soldier Lennox had named her during the fight in Mission City.

So Sam dropped her data pad and sprinted back to engineering. As soon as the doors slid open, Sam immersed herself in the chaos of the engine room during a battle. Small fires would randomly break out through the pipes, explosions of sparks would shower them as the control panels were damaged.

Sam continued through it all, screaming orders as she struggled to keep her ship in one piece.

"Get the coolant on the warp coil!" Sam yelled, pulling off her high heeled boots and working barefoot through the hell of the engine room, "And whatever you do, keep the dilithium crystals intact! We need those for war capabilities! Do not lose…"

The rest of her sentence was lost as an explosion rocked through the ship. Sam didn't even have time to scream as a wall of fire came tearing at her. She simply dropped down and let the control system block the worst of the flames. But it didn't stop the control system from coming loose and smashing her into the wall of the ship.

Sam just groaned as her world faded to black…

_The blackness fell away, and he was lying on the desert sands. His eyes landed on the Matrix of Leadership, and suddenly everything came rushing back. He had to save Optimus, that was the only reason why he was alive. _

_So he struggled to his feet and began to run again, this time without Megatron trying to kill him. So he ran, and climbed onto Optimus's chasis. Holding up the Matrix, he let out a scream as he plunged the Matrix into Optimus's extinguished spark._

_The Prime's body rocked as he returned to life, and he was nearly thrown off. Only the giant metal hand kept him from falling to the ground. _

'_Boy,' he found himself staring into the bright blue optics, 'You returned for me.'_

_And Samuel Witwicky could only smile in relief…_

Sam's eyes fluttered open. It had been a long time since she dreamt of her passed life, and they only came back up when she was in some sort of danger. Which was why Sam pulled out her phaser and set it to stun.

Managing to pull herself out from under the control panel, Sam surveyed the damage to her engine room. The fire from the explosion littered the floor, and the other engineers were lying on the ground, flames moving over their prone forms.

Sam gagged a bit as the stench of burning human (and alien flesh) hit her. It wasn't nearly as bad as when the NEST Washington D.C. was destroyed by Sentinel and the Battle of Chicago, but it was still horrible.

She dragged herself out from under the control panel, and stumbled across the engine room floor to the hallway. Pushing to door open, Sam stumbled until her shoulder hit a wall, and she dragged herself down the hallway ready to shoot the first thing she saw.

Sam struggled not to cry as she saw the dead and wounded lying on the ground. She wanted to stop and help them, but she couldn't. Sam knew she had to find Will and Epps and make sure they were alright.

But when she turned down the hallway, Sam froze. A figure stood there, bent over one of the bodies of a crew member. And the red shirt got Sam to recognize he was an engineer, one of her people.

Sam pointed her phaser at the intruder, because that's what it was. It wasn't in a Star fleet uniform and Sam never remembered seeing this figure, and she made it a point to know every member of the crew.

"Put your hand in the air!" Sam screamed, pushing herself off the wall and struggling to fall to the ground from the pain coursing through her body.

The figure, a humanoid Sam noted dully, turned to face her with something close to fury on its chiseled face. Sam struggled not to laugh. She had always been a fan of 21st century television shows, which was why seeing Hugh Lorrie glaring at her from across the hallway made it funny.

"And what do you intend to do with that?" the Hugh Lorrie impersonator snapped, raising at eyebrow at her.

Sam coldly flicked the phaser from stun to kill, "I'll vaporize you, you son of a bitch. Now get away from my engineer."

He gaped at her, "I'm saving this humans life!"

Sam let her eyes fall onto the form, and noticed the light greenish tinge to the skin and immediately recognized the ensign.

"You're killing him," Sam announced softly, keeping her phaser on the humanoid while approaching the body on the floor, "Ensign Hartford is half Orion. He doesn't have the same molecular structure as humans. If you try to fix him with a dermo regulator, it will cause his atoms to rearrange themselves and kill him because of where his heart is located."

It gave her a shocked look, before pulling its hands back as quickly as possible from the ensign. Sam took that as her cue, and slumped down next to ensign Hartford. Placing her hand on his throat, she felt for a pulse.

Sam let out a chocked sob, "He's been dead for hours. There's nothing to do for him."

Pulling away from the body, Sam returned her phaser to the humanoid's forehead, which was typically a direct kill, "State your name, and why you are here on the_ Constellation_ after a recent attack! Were you the one who caused this?"

It snorted, and Sam could feel the indignation radiating off of its person, "Do you truly expect one person to be able to cause all this damage?"

Sam narrowed her eyes, "Of course. I saw what Nero did to Vulcan. I know better than to underestimate individuals. So I'm going to ask you nicely one more time, who the hell are you?"

Standing to his full height, which Sam realized was a few inches taller than herself, he gazed at her with a piercing intensity, "My designation is Ratchet. I am an Autobot from the planet Cybertron. And I can assure you, I did not cause this damage. If you would be so kind as to introduce yourself?"

Sam had to keep tears from filling her eyes. It figured that after years of searching space for them, the Autobots find her at the most inopportune time.

Sam lowered her phaser, and slumped against the bulk head, "Lieutenant Samantha Witwicky of the _USS Constellation_, from Star Fleet. Planet of origin is Earth."

Sam could see the surprise and sadness in Ratchet's eyes when he heard her name. But instead of reassuring the old bot, Sam had to make sure that he truly wasn't a threat to the remaining crew.

"So Ratchet," Sam drawled as she drug herself down the hallway and towards the bridge, "Do you know what happened here?"

Ratchet fell into step beside her, and Sam struggled not to let any of the pain she was feeling show through to him, knowing that he was a medic and would keep her from completing her duties as a member of the crew.

Ratchet responded to her as they walked through the corridors, ignoring the flashing red warning lights, "A species known as the Ziacon did this to your ship. We made contact with them, and after learning that we refused to give them our technology, they decided to wage war against us."

Sam muttered under her breath, "You guys just can't get a break."

Ratchet made no sign of hearing her, but Sam knew he had, "Recently, the Ziacon decided to target our planet directly. But they could not harm the adult mechs, so they targeted a sparkling. The Lord High Protector's sparkling to be exact. They killed the sparkling, and we were forced to retaliate. The Ziacon fled to their home planet, and came across your ship while escaping the sparklings creators,"

Sam growled low underneath her breath, "So we got caught up in the crossfire? Is that what you're telling me?"

Ratchet looked uncomfortable when he nodded, and Sam didn't even try to hide the snarl that passed through her lips. She stormed onto the bridge, livid as Ratchet followed silently after her.

Sam only relaxed when she noticed Will sitting in the captains chair, looking as lost and tired as she felt. Sam ran over to his side and pulled her captain into a hug.

Will cradled her close, smoothing down her hair, "Damn it Sam, I'm taking you out of engineering. We heard the explosion and I thought you'd died."

Sam laughed weakly, "Sorry about that captain. I was heading towards the bridge when I ran into someone. I think they might be on our side."

"Good, I ran into someone who can help also. He's with Epps right now sending out an S.O.S," Will said, pulling away from her, then his eyes landed on her feet and an eyebrow rose, "Sam, where are your shoes?"

She shrugged, giving him a weak grin, "Lost them in engineering? Seriously Will, how am I expected wear high heels while working with the dilithium crystals."

Will just rolled his eyes before they landed on Ratchet, who was studying the communications board with interest, "This is the guy you met."

Sam nodded, "He says his name is Ratchet, and he's from Cybertron."

Will froze and Sam saw the effort he was using not to beam in excitement, "Then I guess we'll have to ask him a few questions while we wait for rescue to arrive."

Will stepped forward towards Ratchet while Sam slumped to the ground next to the captain's chair. She shut her eyes and dozed, not listening to the interrogation of the Autobot. She knew that Ratchet wouldn't reveal anything that was important, and they'd probably discuss the ships condition and any and all military aspects of the meeting.

Sam grunted as she felt a foot connect to her ribs.

"Well, it looks like Miss Witwicky died of boredom," Sam could punch Epps for sounding so smug.

"Indeed Commander Epps. Maybe you should kick her again to double check that she's still living?" And Will to for giving that wonderful suggestion.

With a groan Sam opened her eyes, and fixed a glare on the two members in command gold. She calmly flipped them the bird before stumbling to her feet.

"Aren't you just a ball of sunshine this morning Lieutenant Witwicky," Epps announced, before pointing at another humanoid figure in the room, "This here is Autobot Ironhide. He was sent here with Ratchet, who you already met, to check for survivors."

Sam hummed a bit as she clambered to her feet, making sure to tug her skirt down. She fixed the other figure, who looked a lot like Vin Diesel, with a stern look, "Are you sure these two didn't cause the attack captain?"

Ironhide snorted, "As if you would be alive if I had attacked your ship."

Will gave her a stern look, "Lieutenant, we are supposed to keep an open mind when dealing with new species. I understand the loss of your engineers is making it hard to focus, but I can assure you, these two did not cause the damage to ship."

And with that, Sam finally let herself relax. She knew that tears were welling up in her eyes, and that she looked strange in her ash smeared uniform, especially without any shoes on. Will offered her a gentle smile, while Epps ruffled her already ruined hair.

Sam took in a deep breath, before jumping straight into business, "Is anyone coming for us sir?"

Will immediately entered captain mode, causing Epps to stand at attention. Sam had to admit, her commanding officers looked impressive, especially when they had an audience.

Will took his seat in the captain's chair, and gave both of them a stern look, "I've made contact with the USS Enterprise. Captain Kirk has agreed to pick all survivors up and treat them on his ship. But there's now a catch."

Will turned to regard the two Autobots, who had been arguing to themselves while the humans talked. Will cleared his throat to get their attention, "Gentlemen, due to the recent attack on the ship, we will need to be speaking with the leaders of your planet to make sure that there will not be a declaration of war sent out from the Federation."

Ironhide snorted, "As if you humans could harm us."

Epps smiled darkly, "The Federation is not only composed of human members. In fact, Terran members of Star Fleet are the minority now."

Ratchet let a whirling hum, "We will speak with our leaders to set up an appointment to make sure no ill will happens between Cybertron and the Federation."

Sam stepped forward, "Both of you will need to remain with us the entire time, for security purposes you know."

Ironhide took a step forward, "You think you can stop me, punk?"

Sam had a feeling of déjà vu to their first meeting, but she couldn't act surprised now. Not when she had a duty as a soldier.

So Sam pointed her phaser, still on stun, at Ironhide's chest and snarled, "If that is a threat sir, I will fire with deadly force. Permission to fire captain?"

Will nodded, "Permission granted Lieutenant. Understand gentlemen, no harm will come to you as long as you do not threaten my crew. If you do that, I will personally kill you myself."

Sam could see the sadness in Ironhide's eyes as he regarded Will, "You are very dedicated to your men, aren't you Captain Lennox?"

Will nodded, "If I wasn't, I wouldn't be leading them right now."

There was a moment of silence, that was broken by Epps.

"Sam, where are your shoes?"

Sam sighed, knowing this would be coming up soon. It was going to be a long time before the _Enterprise_ showed up to save her from these lunatics.

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	4. First Contact Arc: III

**Holy crap, I'm up to 70 pages and I'm only on chapter thirteen!**

**This chapter if focusing on getting ready to move into the second arc! Sammy get's more interaction with Kirk's crew, and the Cybertronian's get to experience humanity once again. And the two head engineers get to have tons of fun!**

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**First Contact III**

The moment her feet hit the _Enterprise_, Sam found herself whisked away from the rest of her crew and the two Autobots by a certain Montgomery Scott. The crazed man was going over with her the damage done to her engine room, and any possible ways to prevent it from happening.

Sam was so wrapped up in her conversation she didn't notice Will and Epps leave, while Ratchet and Ironhide stayed behind to listen. If she'd known they were there, Sam would have been more delicate.

"Yer telling me, that the entire engine just exploded?" Scotty asked, staring at her in horrified shock.

Sam nodded, pointing at the projection of the_ Constellation_ Scotty had pulled up on a padd, "The fire started here, near the warp core. It probably hit the gas produced by the core and then went…boom."

Scotty frowned at her, "Lassie, Starships don't go boom."

Sam nodded, fighting back a smile, "My apologies Mr. Scott. The ship made a big boom."

"Much better."

The two head engineers shared crazed grins that caused the two Autobots to trade concerned looks. Sam didn't even notice as she pulled up a larger scale image of her main engine and pointed to the coolant tubes.

"The tubes here weren't damaged when I was there," Sam explained as she gestured to the tubes being mentioned, "Actually, everything was running perfectly when I left there, and I left ten minutes before the attack."

Scotty opened his mouth to talk, but was interrupted by Ironhide, "Is it possible your crew was not accurate in their assumption that everything was working well."

Scotty snorted before he could help himself, and quickly explained when seeing Ironhide's dark glare, "You see, the _Constellation_ has the best crew in the fleet. Most of the command is incompetent, so Captain Lennox keeps his ensigns in tip top shape."

Ironhide's scowl became a bit more thoughtful as he turned to regard Sam, "You are an officer on the _Constellation_ Lieutenant?"

Sam shrugged, "Yeah, I'm the third in command and the head engineer."

Ironhide's stare was making her uncomfortable, "Why does your captain make his lower ranks perform better than the higher one?"

Sam laughed darkly at that particular question, "So we survive with the incompetent officers. You have to understand, I'm not much older than the rest of the crew. The captain didn't want someone as young as me in charge of other soldiers. So he made sure that I was prepared for anything."

Ratchet stepped forward, "It seems like your captain is quite dedicated to your survival."

Sam shrugged at that, while rotating the picture, "I wouldn't say that. Captain Lennox wants every member of his crew to stand a chance when we go planet side. And in his exact words, I a bad alien magnet, so he wants me to be extra prepared."

Ironhide looked wistful, and Sam could guarantee he was remembering Will leading the NEST soldiers into battle against the Decepticons. She almost felt bad, and if it had been any other day she would have been sad for him. But as it was, Sam was exhausted, her side hurt, and her men were dead.

So Sam turned back to the image on the padd and began scouring it for the reason why her perfect engine room failed. And her happy little world of machines and mechanics was disrupted when the door to the room opened. Sam and Scotty both straightened up into a salute when their captains and first officers walked into the transporter room.

"Captain Kirk sir," Scotty called out, "The Lieutenant and I were just going over the damage to the _Constellations_ engines to see if there was any way to keep the same thing from happening to the _Enterprise_."

Sam sent a small, but happy smile in Jim's direction. She could tell from the exchanged look between Will and Epps that they suspected something had happened. But Sam didn't care, not when Jim sent her that bright smile that made her feel like a hundred bucks.

"That's great," Jim said, walking forward and clapping Scotty on the back. Sam let her eyes drift to Commander Spock, and nearly laughed at the disgruntled expression on his face at Jim's actions. And then Sam noticed Jim's eyes fall on her, and his blinding smile got even bigger than usual.

Sam put down the padd and saluted again, "It's been a long time, Captain Kirk."

Jim just ran forward and pulled her into a spinning hug, lifting her clean off her feet. Sam laughed wildly, not noticing how every eye in the transporter room was on them. Placing Sam back on the ground, Jim smiled at her.

And then annoyance crossed his expression.

"Sammy, did you just call me Kirk?"

Sam snorted, pushing away from Jim, "Yes I did. Don't think I haven't heard about your womanizing ways James Tiberius Kirk. I told you back in the Academy, there is no way I'm having sex with you when you're sleeping with everything that has a pulse."

Jim offered her a smug smirk, and his eyes drifted lower to Sam's bare legs, "Well, I'm not sleeping with everything yet, am I Lieutenant?"

Before Sam could respond, Will pushed his way past the stunned Ironhide and Ratchet. He fixed a glare on Jim, and Epps stepped forward threateningly.

"Captain Kirk," Will practically snarled, "If you are sexually harassing my Lieutenant, I will kill you."

Epps turned to regard Spock, "You going to stop us Commander?"

Spock inclined his head, "It would be logical for the captain to learn to stop harassing young women."

Jim gave Spock a wounded look, while Sam began to laugh. She stepped over to Will's side, and offered Jim a smug look.

"Looks like I win this round," Sam cooed to the pouting blond, "…Captain."

Jim snorted, "But I'll win the war….Sammy bear. By the way, Bones wants you in the med bay. Says you need to be looked over."

Sam glared, before flipping Jim the bird and storming out of the transporter room. As she walked down the hallway, Sam noticed the sound of footsteps behind her. Turning, she came face to face with Ratchet, who was studying her closely.

"Mr. Ratchet," Sam said, turning to face him completely, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

He gave her a once over, and again his eyes landed on her feet, "I am a doctor Lieutenant, and am curious about what a human medical room now looks like."

Sam raised an eyebrow at the slip, "You've encountered humans before?"

Ratchet glared at her, "No."

Sam shrugged, before heading down the hallway with him, "Well, if you have, I doubt any of them were like Bones."

The two entered the turbo lift that would take them to medical, "If you would care to elaborate."

"Doctor Leonard McCoy," Sam said, "He's the chief medical examiner of the USS _Enterprise_, which is basically a thankless job. No matter what he does to keep the crew in one piece, Jim manages to maim himself in new and interesting ways."

Sam offered Ratchet a bright grin as the turbo doors swung open, "Basically, Bones is like a teddy bear, but a teddy bear with a gun."

Ratchet frowned as they stepped out of the tube and into med bay, "I do not follow."

Before Sam could open her mouth a loud Southern voice bellowed across med bay to her.

"Samantha Jane Witwicky! What in the seven hells did you think you were doing in not coming here immediately?"

Sam turned to Ratchet, who looked surprised, "This is Doctor McCoy Mr. Ratchet. I get the feeling you two will get along wonderfully."

Ratchet snorted as his eyes landed on McCoy who was storming across medbay towards them, with a hypo spray ready for Sam's neck. Sam didn't even flinch as it was slammed into her neck.

"Honestly Sam," McCoy grumbled, as he ran his tricorder over her, "What happened to you? You have a couple broken ribs, a hairline fracture on your right femur, and a concussion. And damn it Sam, WHERE ARE YOU'RE SHOES?"

Sam shrugged, smiling sheepishly. This brought back memories from her days as a guy, when Ratchet was the one fussing over her, making sure she didn't keel over dead on him after the whole Egypt incident.

"I lost my shoes in the fire Bones," Sam said, immediately sitting on the bed the medic pointed to. She patted the space next to her while giving Ratchet a meaningful look. Ratchet crossed over next to her, and sat down. Sam snickered at how uncomfortable he looked.

Bones gave Ratchet a searching look, "Sam, who is this guy?"

"This is Ratchet," Sam said pointing at the glowering Autobot, "He was on our ship after the attack. He says he's a medic, and…"

"He's a medic and he didn't make you wear shoes?" Bones yelled, turning on Ratchet, "Do you have any idea what illnesses she could have gotten, especially with her immune system fighting whatever pathogens entered her bloodstream in the explosion?"

Ratchet snorted, "I believe her immune system is stronger than that. Not to mention that the Lieutenant mentioned that the physiology of half humans differs from full blooded ones. Without analyzing her DNA, I was not sure what percentage of it was human."

Bones just glared at him, and Sam struggled not to laugh. It figured that Ratchet would give the cranky Southern medic a run for his money. But Sam's amusement disappeared when Bone's turned his eyes to her.

"For the love of God woman," Bones growled as he studied Sam one more time, running the dermoregulator over her broken ribs to fix them, "You should have known better to be running around engineering without shoes on. Space is a black void filled with death and disease."

Sam rolled her eyes, "Aye aye Doctor McCoy. I will no longer perform my job adequately because I might catch a space cold or something."

Bones glared at her, before poiting to the med bay door, "Get out of my med bay you ungrateful little hippie! Go bug Jim or something. Between the two of you, one will be back in here within an hour."

Sam grinned wildly, and grabbed Ratchet's arm. She dragged the protesting Autobot into the turbo shoot, and asked for it to take them to the bridge. The moment the door opened, Sam dragged him onto the bridge.

The command crew of the _Enterprise_ was a beautiful sight. Each member performed their duties perfectly, and Sam had to admit that it ran smoothly. Uhura sat at communications, monitoring the board. Chekov and Sulu managed to keep them on track, while Spock stood next to Jim in front of the main screen.

Sam walked over to Will, Epps and Ironhide. The three were staring at the screen with unreadable expressions on their faces, and Sam allowed a frown to cross her own face.

"Captain," she called as she approached Will, letting go of Ratchet's arm, "What's going on."

Ironhide answered, "We made contact with Cybertron. However they refuse to answer our hails."

Ratchet frowned, starring at the screen, "Did they tell you why over the comm. Ironhide?"

"They're not saying anything," Ironhide admitted, and Will's face just got darker.

"This is only making them look guilty," Will muttered, "There's an attack on a Federation ship, and the new species we encountered during the attack refuses to respond."

Sam swore, "There's going to be war if they don't respond soon."

The moment Jim stood, silence covered the bridge. His usually joking face was dead serious, and Sam knew that what he said next would make or break the situation at hand.

"Attention planet of Cybertron," Jim announced to the screen with a voice that demanded respect, "This is Captain James Kirk from the USS _Enterprise_. We are not here to engage in combat. However, two of your species are on my vessel now, and were met on the _Constellation_. That ship was destroyed due to the conflict you are going through with another alien race. If you make contact, the Federation will not declare war."

Jim paused, and Sam could feel the tension build, "But if you don't, then we will be forced to fight you with deadly force."

There was silence on the bridge, and Spock was the one to break it.

"Captain, they are not responding," Spock said, and the noise cut the silent air, "Shall Miss Uhura contact Starfleet to inform them that war is to be waged."

"That is not necessary Captain," Sam gasped when she heard the voice. The one that had inspired hope into her when she was still a male, the voice that made caused her to survive the war.

"My name is Optimus Prime," the voice continued, and Sam grabbed onto Will's shoulder to keep from falling. Epps placed his hand on Will's other shoulder, "And we will speak with you, members of the Federation, to keep from war."

Jim let out a chocking laugh, "Lieutenant Uhura, cancel that message to Starfleet command. Looks like we're not going to war."

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	5. First Contact Arc: IV

**A lot more of the situation is going to be revealed in this chapter, and why exactly the Constellation was attacked.**

**And to clarify, no, Ratchet and Ironhide are not clinging to the side of the ship. Their holoforms are being sent in due to their advances in technology (robots, they have to advance.) Basically think of the holoforms in this was out of body experiences. They aren't conscious in their actual bodies, all consciousness is being directed into the holoform. When their holoforms are as they are in this story (able to eat, sleep, all functions are dealt with in this form) the actual body enters a comma like state. Energon enter the body through I.V. drip basically.**

**Because of this, if they release their holoform, they immediately wake up back on Cybertron. (remember this for later, it will be important.) **

**I think the next chapter is longer than this one. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**First Contact IV**

The entire bridge stared at the command screen, eyes wide. No one was sure how to respond to Optimus, especially after he had been ignoring their hails for the last half hour. But the silence didn't last long.

Will gently took Sam's hand off of his shoulder before stepping forward and addressing the screen, "I am Captain William Lennox of the USS _Constellation_. You guys destroyed my ship, and killed my crew. Give me a good reason why I should kill you."

There was a pause, and Sam could just imagine the shock on the Autobots face when they heard that news.

"I am sorry Captain Lennox," Optimus continued, and Sam could hear him trip over Will's name, "It appears that your ship was caught in the crossfire during our war with the Ziacon."

Jim entered the conversation, obviously getting over his shock of a response, "Who are the Ziacon? And what do they want with you."

"The Ziacon are another species," Ratchet answered, and Sam noticed that he sounded older than ever when he spoke, "We made contact with them over a vorn ago. We shared our culture with them and our customs."

Ironhide cut in, "But when we refused to share our technology they declared war."

Optimus continued, "Until recently, there has been no problem with the war. We were able to handle the Ziacon with minimal casualties to them. But then they targeted the sparkling of the Lord High Protector. They killed her in the chamber that houses the Allspark."

Sam just stared at the screen, before turning and whispering into Epps ear, "Isn't that Megatron's position? Does that mean they killed his kid?"

Epps shuddered, "I hope not, or else we're all screwed."

Will stepped forward, and even though he knew the answer, he had to act like he didn't not to arouse suspicion, "What are sparklings?"

Optimus's voice sounded heartbroken when he responded, "The closest word you have for them is children."

Sam let out a groan, "Ah shit. He's going to be so pissed."

Ironhide turned his eyes to her, "Who will?"

"They hurt a child?" the room became colder when Jim snarled. The usually happy going captain's eyes were viciously cold, and Sam was afraid he was going to be homicidal, "I can assure you, Optimus Prime, that we will help you in whatever way we can. No one from the Federation condones cruel treatment towards children. Especially killing one."

There was a tense pause, until Optimus broke it.

"I am glad we have your support Captain Kirk," Optimus's voice was grateful, and Sam couldn't help but smile weakly, "I hope we can set up a conference to discuss our future actions."

Will shared a look with Epps before stepping forward, "Set up a conference? What good will that do? My men are dead because of your war!""

There was another pause, and Sam could just imagine how confused Optimus had to be right then. It had probably been years since he'd had to deal with humans acting illogical, and a pissed Will Lennox was about as irrational as they came.

Sam stepped forward and placed a hand on Will's shoulder, "Captain, calm down and think for a minute. They don't have any idea what happened…"

Will turned and glared at her, "I am thinking Lieutenant!"

"And taking it out on them is not going to help," Sam hissed, not caring that the entire bridge was starring at her, "Why don't we set up a meeting, and talk things over like calm rational people, alright Captain?"

Will opened his mouth to yell again, when Sam performed her patented puppy dog eyes. She had created it when seventeen in her first life, and had used it on the Autobots and on the NEST soldiers to often get her way back then.

"Please Will?" Sam whimpered, big brown eyes starring back up at Will, who was looking away from her, "If you won't do it for the Federation, or Starfleet, will you do it for me?"

Will sighed, "Sure thing kid. But you owe me big time."

Sam beamed, before flashing Epps a thumbs up. She dutifully ignored Ratchet's snort of laughter when she skipped back to her place near the two Autobots. Relaxing next to the two, she allowed the higher ups to set up a meeting place where they would discuss their next course of action.

After making sure everything was going fine, Sam calmly left the bridge. She entered the turbo lift and pushed the button for the recreation room. The moment she got to the floor, Sam took off running. She sprinted through the halls, not caring how strange it looked like to run in a skirt with no shoes on. The moment she reached the recreation room, Sam locked the door and slumped to the ground.

If anyone had walked down the hallway they would have heard screams of anguish and pain coming from the rec room as Sam cried out her pain for the lost lives of her engineers.

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**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	6. First Contact Arc: V

**Sorry about the short chapter. This is more for you to get a good sense of what's wrong with Sam for later on, and also some fun Sam/Jim time. The action is going to pick up pretty soon.**

**Also, I want to see if anyone can guess which StarTrek planet Sam is from. A hint, it's not Vulcan or Earth. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**First Contact V**

The earth was gold from the grain in the fields _cold hard cement of the city, host blistering desert heat, sharp glass digging into his sides…_ as the children played happily in the wheat. It was the perfect summer _'The car picks the driver…'_

Fast forward and its winter time. The once happy children are scared, wondering where their parents are and when they'll be back_ 'Where's my car? What did you do with him?'_ But their parents were never coming back, and Sam had to get used to that_. 'Sam, where are you?'_

Fast forward and she was crying into Jim's shirt as Starfleet showed up. The captain _'Captain William Lennox…'_ said they were safe, but they weren't. They would never be safe on this planet again. So they were taken back to Earth, _'What a terrible name for a planet. It should be called Dirt. Planet Dirt…'_ and separated for their own safety.

Fast forward, and Sam's stepping into her engine room for the first time. The crew doesn't expect much out of her, but Sam's determined to make Will proud '_You're a soldier now!'_ So she takes control, and runs her engine room with an iron fist. Will and Epps are proud, and that's all Sam needs.

She's running through Mission City/Egypt/Chicago as explosions go off around her. She's needed, important to the survival of the human race, so she _he_ runs as fast as she can and then she's reaching/jumping/falling and the cube/matrix/crystal is clutched in her hand as she…

Sam woke up gasping in her new bed. She'd been assigned the room the second day on the _Enterprise_, and now spent most of her time inside. Seeing Ratchet and Ironhide walking around filled her with equal amounts anger and sadness. The anger was for her lost friends, the sadness that they didn't recognize her.

But they did respond well to Will and Epps, spending most of their time talking to the two humans. And while Epps tried to pull her into the conversations, Sam refused and kept away from the Autobots.

Which was shy she was curled up in the bed, trembling weakly in the bed. Tears streamed down her face as the painful memories coursed through her mind.

Sam wasn't sure how long she just sat there, staring at the sheets on her bed. But after a while, she managed to stop crying and stood up to dress. She pulled on the Starfleet woman's uniform and long black boots. Her curly brown hair was a mess no matter what, so Sam left it as it was.

She headed out the door, and towards the transport room. After she'd left the bridge, Will had found her and announced they had set up a meeting with the Cybertronian's. They would be meeting on one of the moons of Degaba VIII. Ratchet and Ironhide would be returning with the Autobots, and from there Sam wasn't sure what would happen. The Federation would want a treaty, but Sam had no idea how Optimus would take it.

It had been years since they had dealt with humans. And humanity had changed greatly after World War III.

Sam stepped into the transporter room, and smiled gently at the enthusiastic greeting from Scotty. She noticed how Will's face darkened at the greeting but she didn't care.

"Come on man," Epps said, nudging Will with his elbow as Sam approached them, "You're acting like an overprotective father keeping his baby girl from dating anyone."

Will crossed his arms, eyeing Sam as she wrapped her arms around Jim's shoulders and began whispering to him, "Well maybe I am. I don't think she even knows what she's doing when she clings to Kirk."

Epps let his eyes linger on the pair, and watched as Sam gave Jim's kiss a messy wet kiss, "Will, she knows exactly what she's doing. Our little Sammy girl is all grown up!"

Will punched him in the arm as Ratchet and Ironhide joined them. With another bright grin, Jim pushed Sam away gently. The two shared a look, making several people in the room uncomfortable.

Jim turned to Scotty and ordered, "Seven to beam down Mr. Scott."

"Right ye are captain," Scotty announced, grinning happily as he flashed a thumbs up to Sam. The gathered group got on the transport pad, and in a flash of light they were gone.

Scotty turned away from the transporter pad, whistling happily. Few would know what happened on the planets surface.

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	7. First Contact Arc: VI

**And this ends the first arc of the story! For those of you who want on know how many chapters it will be, I have no idea. I currently am working on chapter 16, so don't worry, it will go on for a while. **

**Also, I want to see if anyone can guess which StarTrek planet Sam is from. A hint, it's not Vulcan or Earth. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**First Contact VI**

The surface of the planet was gorgeous. Deep purple grass spread out for as far at the eyes could see, doted with pale pink flowers that glowed. The sky above them was a blue so rich it look almost black, and tiny pin pricks of light showed through as the stars. The air was littered with little glowing seed pods in pinks and oranges.

"It's so beautiful," Sam whispered, starring up at the night sky.

"It's probably filled with disease, that's what it is," Ratchet grumbled, earning himself a glare from the gathered humans.

"You can't let us enjoy the glowing pink things, can you?" Epps grumbled before turning to Jim, "So Kirk, where are we meeting with these guys?"

Jim just stared at Epps, before turning to Spock, "So…."

"Goddamn it Jim!" Sam yelled, throwing her hands up.

Spock raised an eyebrow, "We are currently at the correct location for the meeting with their leader. I found it only logical to give Mr. Scott the needed coordinates."

Sam fixed a glared on Jim, her hands on her hips, "Well Mr. Kirk, it seems that your second in command would make a better captain then you."

Jim smirked at Sam, "Why Lieutenant, it that a declaration that you are considering being a captain?"

"As if I'd allow that to happen," Will announced, resting a hand on Sam's shoulder. He grinned at the confused looks from everyone but Epps, "Miss Witwicky is the best secretary I've ever had."

"I am afraid I don't understand William," Ironhide muttered, scowling at the pair of humans, "If she is your head engineer, why would you waste her as a recourse by making her your secretary?"

Spock was the one who answered, "Not at all. It is more of a waste for Lieutenant Witwicky to be an engineer. She is an adequate diplomat."

"That's a compliment!" Jim yelled, seeing the darkening expression on Will and Epp's faces. The two were worse than overprotective parents when it came to Sam.

But, Jim had to admit while watching Sam lecture Will for being culturally insensitive, he could see all the good it was doing for her. The Sam he used to know would never smile that openly, or laugh so happily.

Jim turned away from them, knowing that it was actually a private moment most people were not allowed to see. So Jim looked out across the purple plains, and honestly couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Rolling across the purple field was a semi-truck. Paint blue with red flames, it was headed straight at them. Jim couldn't help his first reaction, he just stared at it and then finally yelled, "What the hell is that thing!"

"That is a Peterbilt truck, a classic antique from the 21st century, if I am not mistaken captain," Spock announced.

Jim glared, while Epps let out a low whistle.

'They're sending the big guns to deal with us," Epss muttered while missing the suspicious looks from Ratchet and Ironhide.

Will couldn't help but make the situation worse, "At least _he_ didn't show up. Then we'd never get Sam back, and I need her to finish my paperwork."

Sam punched him. Hard.

"Damn it woman!" Will yelled, rubbing his arm and glaring at Sam, who just snarled at him and raised another fist. Ironhide couldn't help but give the girl an appraising look.

All attention was drawn to the truck as it came to a stop in front of them. Jim gave it a blank look before turning to Ratchet, "So…how do I talk to it?"

"Just speak to him," Ratchet was clear to enunciate the male pronoun in the sentence. Both he and Ironhide were glaring at Jim now.

"Alright," Jim muttered before speaking to the truck in his captain's voice, "Greetings. I am captain James Tiberius Kirk from the USS _Enterprise_. Please identify yourself."

There was a moment of silence before the transformation began. The gears began to grind against each other, and the sound of scrapping metal filled the air. The truck shifted, and soon enough there was a giant metal robot starring down at the gathered group.

"Greeting Captain Kirk," Optimus announced, his deep voice rumbling across the open plain, "I am Optimus Prime."

There was a moment of silence. Jim's mouth was hanging open in shock, while Spock's eyebrow rose. Will and Epps were too busy trading matching grins, so Sam took over while her superior officers composed themselves.

Sam stepped forward, making sure to punch Will again. She stared up into unreadable optics, and saluted, "Mr. Prime, I am Lieutenant Witwicky. I apologize for my superior officers acting like ten year old boys, but it's not everyday they get to see a robot."

Optimus crouched down so he was level with her, "It is fine Lieutenant. It has been many Earth years since we encountered humans."

Ironhide stepped forward, "Not to interrupt, but Optimus, these humans were attacked by the Ziacon."

Optimus frowned, "That is most unfortunate."

Will finally came back to his senses, "Why did they attack my ship?"

Optimus let out a sigh, before leaning back, "The Ziacon have performed a most grievous act against the Lord Protector of Cybertron. They murdered his Sparkling, which has caused his mate to go insane. The stress from one Bond snapping and the corruption of another has caused him to become…"

Irnohide snorted, "Unstable is a compliment to his mindset now."

Sam and Jim shared a look. Both understood the pain of losing a child, and they had seen parents go insane from the death of their children.

Jim stepped forward eyes hard, "I am sorry for your loss. However, that does not allow for your war to lead to the deaths of Starfleet crew members."

Optimus shook his head, "I can assure you Captain, no Cybertronian shall harm your crews. But I cannot speak for the Ziacon."

"They are a cruel race," Ratchet told them, "All of their growth has gone towards the conquering of other worlds."

"The only way for your people to be safe is if a treaty is former between us and the Ziacon," Optimus said, standing to his full regal height as he regarded them. "However there is no third party to hold witness to the treaty."

Spock inclined his head, "Mr. Prime, Captain Lennox and his crew are experts at diplomacy. The three of them will be able to handle the treaty while the _Enterprise_ provides the needed military presence."

Optmimus nodded, "That is acceptable. Ratchet, you are to return with me. Ironhide, I will ask you to remain with the humans while we set up a meeting time with the Ziacon."

Ironhide inclined his head, "Consider it done Prime."

"And with that I shall take my leave of you," Optimus announced, before transforming back into the truck form. The passenger door opened, and Ratchet quickly entered the truck. Optimus turned, and soon the original group was standing among the flowers starring at his retreating form.

Epps groaned, "Well this was useless."

Sam shook her head, "Not really. We now have a meeting to form a treaty, which is better than before. And besides Commander Epps…"

Sam offered him a dark smile, "We now have the Autobots on out side of this fight."

Page break

She was scared. Very scared.

It was dark and damp where she was, the water seeping in through the bottom of the gilded cage she was trapped in. She wore no shoes, which made the situation all the worse.

She was dressed in an overly large dress, threadbare and water soaked. Her long violet hair was hanging lose and matted, while tears streamed from her red eyes.

Ivory skin was covered in cuts and bruises, with the exception of the dark violet tattoo on her arm. She curled up into a small ball, whimpering.

It was so cold in here….she'd never felt cold before.

Vortex let out a strangled sob, clutching at her hair. Her Bonds were silent. She could not hear her Creators speaking to her, offering her comfort and courage in trying times.

But Vortex was not weak Sparked. Her Creators had raised her to be strong, to be a soldier. So Vortex dried her tears, and stood with dignity when the Ziacon opened the door to her cage.

The Head Priest of Ziacon sneered at her, "So tell me child, what will your father do now that he believes you dead? My spies have informed me that your mother has gone insane."

Vortex inclined her head and offered a vicious smile, "I assure you, when my father gets his claws on you, he will rip you to shreds. Then he will destroy your pathetic planet and all you hold dear. I find great amusement from the thought."

The Head Priest sneered, and Vortex knew he wished to strike her. But he wouldn't dare, not when that could lead to the Bond being awakened potentially, "Your father can not protect you, machine."

Vortex spat at his feet, "Then why do you fear him so? Such a weak Sparked race you are. Your planet will crumble to dust under the furry of the Decepticons."

"Then they will kill you with us."

"It will be worth it to watch you all burn," Vortex leaned in close and whispered, "Long live Lord Megatron."

The Head Priest snarled and stormed out of the room. Vortex stood standing, inwardly proud of her triumph over him. Even if they were unaware of the situation, she would make her Creators proud.

Vortex was a soldier. She knew how to handle herself in these situations, even if she was still only a child. And that was why she was the Sparkling of Megatron and Starscream.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	8. War Stories Arc: I

**Here's the start of the second arc. War stories is going to be a shorter arc, if I remember correctly. It's mostly here to move into the third arc. **

**Hope you like the direction this story is going in. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**War Stories I**

The moment the away team landed in Ziacon, they were in awe. The planet was made completely out of crystal. Large towering spires stretched to the heavens, no trees or plants grew but instead crystals glistened. Even the dirt itself was crushed crystals, pounded into a fine dust by countless feet that walked upon it.

The whole planet glittered magnificently, small rainbows reflecting from every surface thanks to the six suns the planet had.

"This is amazing," Sam whispered, starring around her, "How did no one know about this planet?"

Epps snorted next to her, "Probably the same way no one knew about the giant robots either."

"Both of you stop that," Will ordered, eyes serious for once, "We need these negotiations to go smoothly, is that understood? Now, the _Enterprise_ is standing by ready to beam us up at a moments notice. Ironhide returned to the Autobots side last night, so we're on our own. One of the Ziacon will come and meet us here before taking us to the negotiations. Understood?"

Both soldiers nodded.

"Good," Will ran a hand through his hair, "We'll try to work out some kind of treaty, and hopefully this whole thing will be resolved soon."

"Of course," Epps said as they noticed one of the Ziacon approaching.

The Ziacon dipped its head in a bow, and offered them a cold smile, "How wonderful for Starfleet to enter onto our planet. We are glad you will assist us with the treaty. Please, follow me."

Will nodded politely, "Thank you. Commander, Lieutenant, with me."

As they followed the Ziacon, Sam couldn't help but study it. Like the planet, the creature was made completely out of crystal. Each segment of the body was a different crystal, and all combined to make the massive creature. It was easily eight feet tall. Six long arms hung from its body, and tiny markings were etched into its surface, swirling loops and straight lines interconnected.

Sam couldn't take her eyes off of it as they walked through the streets. There were others out and about, and they all stared at the humans as they passed with unfeeling crystal eyes. Sam couldn't help but begin to feel nervous from the tension around her.

They were not welcome there, that was obvious. It wasn't obvious from the unmoving faces, but the oppressive atmosphere was passing from hostile into homicidal.

"Captain," Sam whispered as they started up a flight of crystal stairs to the largest spire, "I don't think they want us here."

Epps hung back a bit until he was in range before smacking the back of Sam's head, "What gave it away kid? The angry looks, or the feeling you get right before a Klingon hit your ship with a plasma cannon."

Sam offered a sheepish smile, "Actually, its more of the fact that my eyes hurt from all the reflected lights…"

Epps smacked her again, glaring. How she had become a Lieutenant, he had no idea. She acted like an awkward teenager most of the time, and it could get annoying very quickly.

The group finally entered the large spire and followed their guide through the sparkling hallways. They were finally lead to a massive doorway that was inscribed with alien symbols. They could be telling a story, or show a picture, there was no way to tell with written alien languages.

Their guide paused in front of the doors, and graced Sam with a cold look, "The female is not welcome in this room."

Will bristled. He had been protective of the kid in the past life, and he still was, "What are you implying about my Lieutenant? She is a perfectly capable human being, and in many ways more competent than myself."

The crystalline being shook its head, "She stays out here. The two of you will enter."

Will opened his mouth to argue again, and Sam quickly cut in, "Captain, I'll be fine out here. Get in there and figure out the treaty so no one else dies."

Although Will and Epps nodded, neither one looked happy. In a matter of moments, Sam was left all alone in the hallway.

Sam just slumped to the floor, leaning back against the doorway and letting her eyes close. She was careful not to fall asleep though, fearing that any potential hostile alien could kill her if she dozed off. So Sam went over the new engine specs in her head as she sat there.

About the time she reached a new hydraulics system, a buzzing started to fill her ears. Sam winced, hand reaching up to clutch at her head as the buzzing became louder, more frequent.

Sam gritted her teeth and curled up into a ball, pressing her head between her knees. The buzzing had turned into white noise, and her vision was also becoming white from the pain. Then she heard it…

**Find her….**

Sam froze, breathing hard. What the hell was talking to her? And how did it get in her head!

**I have been here for years Samuel, from the moment you picked us up and ran through the streets with us…**

Sam gasped, eyes wide. Hesitantly she thought '_Are you the Allspark?_'

There was a moment of silence.

**Indeed child**.

Sam let out a soft curse, '_I take it you need me to do something for you_.'

**The Youngling Vortex.**

'_Yeah, her death caused the whole problem'_

**She is not dead.**

Sam frowned into her knees, kneading her forehead with the heels of her palms, '_How can she be alive? From what I heard Jim mention to Will during the briefing, Megatron found her body._'

**He did find her original body. However, her holoform is still activated.**

'_What the hell does that mean?_'

**Vortex was one of the first Sparkling to be created after the War. It was difficult to create a Spark that would thrive under Megatron and Starscream's care. In order to make sure that Spark was not extinguished, we transferred it into her holoform. However, the Ziacon captured it, and are now holding her captive in this world. **

Sam groaned, '_And you want me to go get her, knowing I won't say no, because the last time I did you made me go crazy and had me draw all over kitten calendars._'

**That is correct.**

Sam let her head smack against the crystal doors as she stared up at the ceiling, '_Fine. Not like I have much of a choice. Where do I find her?'_

**Listen, and the path will appear to you…**

And with that, the buzzing in her ears stopped. Sam blinked a couple of times, before scrambling to her feet.

"Listen huh," Sam grumbled, starting to head back down the hallway in the direction she came from, "Would have been nice if I knew what to listen for! Stupid rusted piece of crap…"

Then Sam felt it. A small tug that told her to take a left at a fork in the hallway. When Sam tried to take a right, the tug became stronger, more overwhelming. She was being compelled to follow it.

So Sam did, through the twisted corridors and down the winding stairs. Before long the harsh reflective light disappeared and the air became damp. Sam could feel the pull getting stronger, and she just knew that she was getting closer to Vortex.

"This had better be worth it," Sam grumbled, heading even deeper into the world of Ziacon.

Page break

Vortex sat curled into a small ball in her cage. She despised her very organic response to the situation, falling prey to a hormonal response to become smaller and less of a target. Vortex snarled softly to herself as she felt liquids filling up her optics. She refused to give the Ziacon the satisfaction of reducing her to this sorry state.

She sniffled, hating herself for it. Her hands unconsciously rubbed at her leaking eyes as soft sobs escaped. Vortex started to choke on her sobs, entire body shaking. And even though she knew it was useless she tried to reach across her Bonds to her Creators.

But once again, only silence met her. Vortex hated the silence. Her mother was never quiet, always muttering on his side of the Bond as he worked, and every now and then Vortex and her father would be surprised by the screams of rage from that side.

So silence was not something she was used to. And the silence scared Vortex more than the situation she found herself in. If her Creators couldn't hear her, they would never find her.

Vortex took in a shuddering breath as she struggled to calm herself. She didn't calm down, but she did relax. Which was why Vortex heard the footsteps coming down the stairs to her.

Standing quickly, Vortex tried to wipe away the remnants of her tears. She had no idea if she had succeeded or not, but she would try.

Vortex turned and faced the doorway with all the imperial grace she posed. But it was quickly lost the moment the door opened.

Her mouth fell open as she regarded the human in front of her. Short curly brown hair fell around a thin face, while brown eyes darted through the room with nervous movements. But her outfit was strange, a short red dress with a golden decoration on it and knee high boots. And she was clutching a strange weapon.

Raising an eyebrow, Vortex called out to her, "Tell me fleshling, what are you looking for?"

The human jumped, and turned while pointing the strange weapon at her. The she released a sigh of relief, "Oh thank God! I thought you were one of the crystal people. Not that there would be anything wrong with you if you were, cause I'm not xenophobic or anything. Oh my God I can't shut up."

Vortex raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms as she regarded the human across from her, "You were searching for me?"

She nodded frantically, "Yeah, the Allspark told me to find you."

Vortex let her arms drop and her mouth fall open, "The Allspark spoke to you. And told you to find me. Why?"

The female shrugged, grinning sheepishly, "Cause I'm adorable and alien artifacts are madly in love with me."

"…No. Seriously, how did you find me."

The human shrugged, "The Allspark told me to come get you. It did something to my brain, and it made me follow it. Which led me down here, and then I found…you…yeah. So, if you would kindly leave the cage, I can get you out of here."

Vortex glared, placing her hands on her hips, "Oh yes fleshling. Because I can just open the door and walk out any time I want to. Idiotic organic."

"Bitch," Vortex snarled at the human for that comment. But then the female gasped in delight and pulled something off of her belt and pressed a button. The thing crackled to life and the organic began to speak into it.

"Mr. Scott," the female said into it, "Is it possible to beam someone up who is currently in a cage?"

Vortex jumped when something responded back to the human, "Um…lassie. I can't do that. But I can beam the cage back up with you."

The human grinned widely, and Vortex was suddenly remembering her mother and Wheeljack grinning to each other like that before something blew up. And then Vortex realized it.

"Primus help me, you're a scientist," Vortex groaned, banging her head against a bar of the cage.

The human glared at her, "For your information, I'm an engineer. Calling me a scientist is an insult. Does this uniform look blue to you?"

Vortex just glared, "Slagg it all, why do I care what color you uniform…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a series of flashing lights surrounded her. Vortex felt the most unnerving thing around her, she felt as if she was slowly being broken apart, only to be place back together.

And then the lights were gone, and Vortex was standing in her cage on a brightly lit station. Humans were staring at her in shock, and a male with bright red hair who was dressed similarly to the female whistled.

"Well I can see now why you wanted to see if we could beam someone up from a cage," the male said to her rescuer, "Now tell us Sammy, how do we get her out of this thing?"

The female shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe we can melt the bars or something."

Vortex let out a shuddering sigh. Maybe it was safer to remain on Ziacon then with these insane organics.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	9. War Stories Arc: II

**Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. I have up to like, a hundred pages of print and suddenly decided to post them all this weekend. It's been tough, senior year and all. So there will be lots of updates, very very soon. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**War Stories II**

Epps frowned as he read the message on his padd. Kirk had just sent it, saying to get back up to the_ Enterprise_ with the Cybertronians as fast as possible. When he sent a message asking Kirk why, the response was a warning about the intentions of the Ziacon. Epps knew he had to contact the _Enterprise_ and figure out what was going on before getting Will to leave.

Standing quickly, Epps nodded as every head turned to stare at him, "I'm terribly sorry, but there seems to be an emergency on the Enterprise that I need to deal with. I'll be right back."

Epps headed through the door, aware of Will's glare on his back. As soon as he reached the hallway he froze. Sam wasn't there. Where the hell was that girl?

Epps pulled out his comm., "Sam, where the hell are you? Will's going to kill you!"

Epps raised an eyebrow at the noise from the comm. Sam had to scream over the sound of metal being cut, "I'm on the ship! I had to rescue a princess so the Allspark would shut up!"

Epps just blinked, "What? Kid, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Vortex, Megatron's kid, isn't dead!" Sam yelled to him, "She's here with me, and she's totally fine. Well, besides being really dirty. And grumpy. Man, this is one angry kid."

Epps raised an eyebrow as a new voice began screaming across the com link. Whoever was with Sam was not very happy, and Epps could guess it was Sam's fault.

"Sam, what is going on up there?" Epps demanded.

There was a moment before Sam responded, "Look Epps, the you-know-what spoke to me today. It told me where to find Vortex, and when I found her I brought her back up here. Epps, I think the Ziacon will take them down to where she was held to get back at the Cybertroanins. And if she's not there…"

"Then we're in trouble," Epps muttered, eyes widening, "Kid, please tell me there's a plan."

A new voice cane across, cold and biting, "Tell them they are needed back on your ship. Say the Wing Commander is having another attack and needs to come into contact with his Bond-mate."

There was a moment of silence on both sides on the line before Epps responded, "And how do you know that will work?"

"I know my mother," came the cold voice, "That's basically a code saying to get out of there."

Epps frowned, "I'll tell them. Sam, get Mr. Scott ready to beam…"

"He's ready Epps."

"…Good. I'll get the other out of there, alright," Epps ordered, heading back towards the door to the meeting room, "Epps out."

And with that he shut off the comm. link and entered the room. All the eyes turned to him again, but Epps was trained for these types of situations. His eyes landed on Will, and he knew the moment he said the code for a full retreat to his captain, things would spiral downwards from there.

Epps nodded to Will, and said with all seriousness, "Sir, the engineers set the bridge on fire. You're needed back on the ship to put it out." _Will, there's something dangerous and we need to get back to the ship._

Will nodded, recognizing the hidden meaning, "Has the Lieutenant been informed?" _Sam knows, right?_

"She already went back to the ship to deal with her engineers," Epps announced. _Sam went back early. She's part of this. _

"Understood. I'll speak to her," which basically meant _I'm going to kill her_. Will offered the gathered group a slight smile, "I'm terribly sorry about this. It seems like the moment I take Lieutenant Witwicky away, the engineering department goes insane."

The head priest of Ziacon inclined his head, and gave them a painfully artificial smile, "That is quite alright Captain. I hope we can continue the discussion at a later date."

Epps immediately jumped in before Will could respond, making sure to talk to the gathered Cybertronians, "Um…we got a message saying the Wing Commander is going crazy."

Epps could tell from the narrowing of their eyes that the Cybertronians got it. Now he would defiantly have to talk to Sam about whatever she had been doing while they were in the meeting.

Page break

Sam glared at the cage in front of her. Whatever the Ziacon used as a metal base, it just wouldn't cut. They'd tried fire, phaser, laser cutters, everything. Sam had even smashed on the bars with a sledge hammer a couple of times to open the stupid thing.

Through the entire thing, Vortex sat there looking smug in her gilded cage. She had been given a sandwich and some water which she smugly devoured while Sam kicked the stupid thing.

She was reminded of her past life, when the piece of crap car she'd bought to take Bumblebee's place wouldn't start and Dylan Gould had been approaching. Sam snarled, getting angry at the memory. Which was why she didn't hear Will enter the room, followed by two other people.

"Lieutenant Witwicky!" Will roared into the room, making the other engineers jump. He ignored the stiffening from the two who had followed him back, "What the hell happened back there!"

Sam didn't answer him at first. Instead she picked up the comm. unit resting next to her and threw it at the bulkhead where it shattered into pieces. Sam screamed in rage and picked up the sledge hammer and threw it at the bulkhead for good measure.

"What did they make this piece of shit out of anyways!" Sam screamed, glaring at the cage.

Will could help it. He knew Sam was only trying to do her job, but her ignoring him was making the situation worse.

"Lieutenant!" Will yelled.

"WHAT!" Sam screamed, turning and facing her captain. She froze when seeing the other two figures standing next to Will, "Um…hi there."

Both were tall. The one on the left had a kind face, tan and weather worn. A long scare crossed the bridge of his nose. He had short brown hair that was graying at the temples, and was dressed in a dark blue dress shirt with black slacks and shined shoes.

The other had all gray hair, but the face was of a man in his mid thirties. A leather jacket rested over a gray t-shirt, and jeans and combat boots complete the look. A long scar traveled down from his hair line over the left eye and ended at his chin. Shorter scars were on either side of his face. A scowl crossed his face.

But both had the most striking eyes. The brown hair one had electric blue eyes, and the silver haired one had shocking red eyes. Now that Sam thought about it, the red eyes were the same color of Vortex's.

Will coughed, and when Sam returned her attention to him, she flinched at the glare, "Lieutenant Witiwicky, the gentleman with me are Optimus Prime and Megatron."

Sam paled, eyes landing on Optimus. Maybe if she was really lucky he wouldn't recognize her. Yeah right, like she had that luck.

"Now, please explain what was so important you had to interrupt a peace conference Lieutenant," Will demanded.

Sam's nervous expression turned to annoyance, "The voice in my head told me where to find Vortex. I found her, brought her back here, and now she's stuck in this god damn cage that won't open!"

Sam snarled again and kicked the bars of the cage, before glaring at Vortex who was smiling smugly at her. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" Sam growled.

Vortex raised a perfect eyebrow, smiling smugly, "Seeing how frustrated you are fleshling, yes."

Sam pointed at her, trying to appear vaguely threatening, "I can send you back to the basement if you keep it up!"

And seeing how bored Vortex looked, Sam knew she didn't look threatening at all.

"Sam," she turned and stared at Will, noting the shocked looks on the faces of the other two with him, "Is that Vortex?"

Sam glared, putting her hands on her hips, "No, it's a Vulcan. Of course it's Vortex!"

Megatron took a step forward, the scowl gone and instead replaced with shock, "That's impossible, I found her…her body. And the Bond is gone…"

Vortex dropped her sandwich and ran over to the edge of the cage. She pressed herself into the bars, trying to get out of it. Megatron crossed over to her and they started to converse in quiet tones.

Sam grinned smugly at Will, "Worth disrupting a peace conference over Captain?"

Will just groaned before pulling in her in for a hug, "What am I going to do with you kid? I turn around, and you've gotten yourself covered in trouble."

Sam smirked, and pushed away enough to punch him in the shoulder, "You're getting soft on me old man. If you keep it up, people are going to start to think that you care."

Will shoved her away, causing Sam to fall back laughing wildly. Her attention quickly moved to Optimus who stepped forward.

The older male regarded the cage, and then his eyes fell to the sledge hammer Sam was still holding. Optimus let a small smile cross his face, "Tell me, girl, what were you planning on doing with that?"

Sam scowled darkly, "Trying to break open the stupid cage. It won't open, no matter what I do to it. I put acid on it, it didn't melt. I shot it, and ended up shooting…one of the engineers. Yeah. I lit it on fire and then it went out. I tried to melt it, then I tried to shoot it with the phaser, and then I hit it with a sledge hammer, and then I gave up and started kicking it. Then you two came in, and I kind of gave up on it for now. I'm rambling, I'll stop now."

Optimus regarded the young girl in front of him. She reminded him greatly of Samuel which could be credited to her being his descendant. Still, the way she carried herself, the rambling when nervous, the way she seemed so relaxed in his presence reminded him of the boy so much his spark hurt.

Will quickly took over, turning to regard the cage, "Is there a possibility it's a crystalline substance Sam? That could be resistant to many of the tests."

Sam shook her head. Her eyes landed on Vortex speaking softly to her father, and a bitter smile crossed her face, "No. The science team ruled out crystalline substances, along with anything organic. It's metallic in nature…"

Sam froze, eyes widening, "How the hell did I forget that?"

Spinning away, she ran out of the room. Ignoring the yells of the people behind her she raced through the halls of the Enterprise, searching for the one thing that could potentially break the cage. After sliding around a corner and nearly knocking over an ensign, Sam finally arrived at her location.

Pounding on the door in front of her, Sam yelled, "Jim open up! It's Sam!"

The door slid open to reveal Jim, who was starring at her in confusion but still allowed her inside, "Sammy, what's up? Is there something you need."

Sam quickly began digging through Jim's drawers, grumbling under her breath as she searched for something. Jim's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Sam." She ignored him, moving to his closet.

"SAM!" Jim yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to stop, "What is it your looking for?"

Sam's eyes were wide and frantic, "The kayu leputan! Where did you put it!"

Jim frowned, keeping her from running to search for it, "Why do you need it. Sam, answer me."

"It'll break the cage," Sam explained, grabbing Jim's shoulders in her excitement, "The explosive charge combined with the steel balls inside will break the stupid thing open!"

Jim froze, then a smile broke across his face. Letting go he climbed on his bed and pulled the kayu leputan out from the air vents, "This is why I love you Sam. Now let's get going."

Together they both turned and started the race back towards engineering. Jim had a definite lead on Sam as they tore through the halls, due to his long legs and his knowledge of his ship.

The moment they reached engineering, Sam pulled the kayu leputan out of Jim's hand.

Will started towards them, "Sam, what is that thing?"

Sam grinned widely, heading straight for the cage, "A kayu leputan."

Sam placed the stick between the bars of the cage, ignoring the glare from Megatron at approaching. Jim quickly explained the device to Optimus and Will, "The name translates to explosive stick, but we just call it a boomstick in Standard. It's a basic metal tube, and you fill half of it with gun powder, and the other half with ball bearings. The wire, yes, the one Sam's holding, ignites it. If you pull quickly it created a spark, causing an explosion. The explosion causes the ball bearings to fly out and destroy anything in their path."

Vortex's eyes widened and she moved as far away from the device as was possible in the cage. Megatron stepped forward, eyes flashing with rage, "You will not use that device anywhere near my Sparkling."

"It's totally safe," Sam told him, getting disbelieving looks from everyone but Jim.

"Captain Kirk just said it destroys everything in its path," Optimus said, giving the device a hard look, "This will no doubt harm Vortex."

"Not if she ducks," Jim said. Everyone's eyes turned to him while Sam rolled out the charge so she could activate the kayu leputan.

"The boomstick was created as a weapon used by children in a civil war," Jim explained. He noticed the horrified expressions at the thought of children fighting in wars, but continues anyways, "The charge is made to go over the head of a twelve year old, so if she crouched down…"

"She'll be safe," Sam finished, kneeling on the ground away from the boomstick. She fixed the others with a look, "If you don't get down, this thing will tear you to shreds."

Jim was already on the ground, lying on his stomach. Vortex copied him, looking very young and scared all of a sudden. Sam waited until Megatron and Optimus knelt down before focusing her eyes on the kayu leputan in front of her.

Will knelt down next to her, eyes searching. The moment they were all on the floor, Sam pulled the cord.

It all happened in about a second. The fuse was pulled out, causing a spark to form from where it rubbed against the casing. The spark ignited the gun powder, causing an explosion. The explosion caused a flash of blinding white light, and the force behind it sent the ball bearings hurtling through the air. They didn't shatter the objects in their way. No, the ball bearings tore the objects apart.

As the flash died down, the damage to the room was revealed. The cage, once pristine and painted, was managed beyond all reason. The bulkhead had ball bearings imbedded into it from the explosion. But there were no injuries.

Vortex was the first to scramble to her feet. She stepped over the remains of the cage, and ran into her father's arms. Megatron gathered the child to him, making strange clicking noises to her for comfort.

Jim turned and smiled at Sam, "Looks like it was good for something after all."

"Guess so," Sam muttered, climbing to her feet. Will stood next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Optimus regained his footing and graced the Starfleet members with a grateful smile.

"Captains, Lieutenant," The three of them straightened up unconsciously at the commanding tone in Optimus's voice as he addressed them, "You have my thanks. You returned my brother's daughter to us when she seemed lost. I can not repay the debt I now owe you."

Sam traded a look with Will before her captain answered.

"It was no problem," Will responded, "I'm just glad the girl is alright."

Jim finally stepped forward, offering the three Cybertronians a wide smile, "Why don't you guys come with me? I'll get a couple of rooms set up so you guys can relax."

Megatron inclined his head, "That is…tolerable."

Jim started for the door, followed by the Cybertronians. As Vortex passed Sam, the girl offered a small awkward smile, "Thank you Lieutenant, for saving me."

Sam shrugged, "It's all good."

"Indeed," was the dry response Vortex gave as she left the room with her father and uncle. Will and Sam stood there in silence for a moment before Will spoke.

"Listen kid," Sam shut her eyes as Will addressed her, "I'm not going to ask how you knew about the weapon, or how you found the girl yet."

Will stared into her eyes, and Sam felt as if she were seventeen again, being told she was a soldier for the first time, "I will find out what happened Sam. I just hope you tell me before I have to order you to."

Sam looked away, her eyes drawn to the remains of the cage, "Will, I'll tell you soon. Just not right now."

Will finally smiled at that. He ruffled her hair as he headed out of the room, "That's all I ask for Sam."

Sam smiled after him, before turning back to survey the damage done to the room. Her pasts were meeting up with her, something she'd been trying to avoid for years. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Sam addressed the empty room where her worlds collided.

"I'm not going to let you win," she whispered to the room, "I'm stronger than this, and I will beat you. I'm no longer the messenger, I'm a soldier now."

And with that, Sam left the room.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	10. War Stories Arc: III

**Here's the end of the War Stories Arc. Now we're getting to the good part. **

**Next arc is going to be Homecoming, and it will be dark. Just to warn you guys. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**War Stories III**

Vortex scowled as she lounged in front of the window in the rec room of the _Enterprise_. She had taken a bath, her hair was now combed, and had been placed in Starfleet issued clothes after her meeting with Doctor McCoy. Vortex was quite happy to be away from him. After she had been escorted away from the cage by her Creator, he had left placed her in this room. Vortex understood why. She knew Optimus and her father had to speak about the situation at hand, and especially how she fit into it. That was why she was left alone in the room, staring out into the vastness of space.

Space. The final frontier as it was often called. Vortex loved staring out at it, imagining all the worlds, and thinking up new alien life forms. Her closest friend, Starfall, said that her fantasies were a waste of time and effort, especially because of her position as the Lord Protector's daughter.

But to be left out of the meeting, one which was about her, was driving Vortex insane. Megatron knew how annoyed she would be, that's why he left her in here. Not that it mattered. No, Vortex planned on driving her father insane for the next hundred vorns because of this.

Vortex stiffened as she heard the doors to the rec room open and allow someone in. She formed a fist with one hand, waiting for the intruder to come within her range. Just because Optimus said she had to be nice to the organics didn't mean she would be.

"It's nice out there, isn't it?"

Vortex turned, regarding the new human she had just come across. He smiled at her, before sticking a hand out, "Commander Robert Epps. I would have been there when Sam got you out of the cage, but the Admirals wanted to talk to me."

Vortex took his hand and shook it, "A pleasure. My designation is Vortex."

"I heard," Epps chuckled before taking a seat next to her, "You managed to get the kid in a whole lot of trouble with Will."

Vortex frowned. The human was being rather confusing, and she hated confusion, "Who is the kid?"

"Lieutenant Witiwicky," Epps said, shaking his head, "Don't give me that look. We know she's an adult, we just treat her like she's our kid."

Vortex snorted. She knew first hand how hard it was to be treated like a child by everyone she met, "She must love that."

Epps smiled sadly, starring out into the void, "She does actually. Freaked me out, I mean, she should get mad that Will tries to act like a second dad to her, and that I help him with half the stuff. But then she mentioned she didn't have that good of a home life before Starfleet…."

Vortex frowned as she regarded the man next to her. His sorrow was not false, he truly cared for the girl. Vortex chuckled softly before muttering, "I am…glad she knows how much you care for her well being. I must admit, I have never seen an organic as young as her be so open to that level of care."

Epps shook his head. Sam had been amazing when she had lived her first life as Samuel, and now she was even more amazing, even more caring than before, "She's one hell of a soldier, I'll give you that."

Sitting there quietly for a few moments, the two shared a moment of piece. The Epps grinned widely, a dangerous idea forming in his head, "Want to see Sam in action?"

Vortex frowned. Her father had told her to wait here, but he had also left her alone. Grinning wickedly, Vortex nodded, "I would love to Mr. Epps."

Standing together, the two headed out of the rec room. As they headed towards engineering, Epps began to tell stories to Vortex about his time spent in Starfleet. From the time he had broken his arm as a cadet during self defense, to the time Will got eaten by a giant slug on a planet.

Vortex hated to admit it to herself, but the stories were actually quite amusing. She had to admit, hearing stories that didn't revolve around death was quite…refreshing.

Epps offered her a weak grin as he opened the door to the engine room, "Here we are. Technically this is Scotty's lair, but he trusts Sam so she can call a few shots."

Vortex frowned as they stepped into the room, "How can Lieutenant Witwicky issue orders if she is not in command of this engine room?"

"Simple," Sam yelled to them from across the room, "I'm the only one in this group who specializes in electronic compositions."

Epps quickly explained for Vortex, who looked confused, "Sam specializes in which wire goes where, making sure all the wires work, and that the technical aspects of engineering come together."

Together Vortex and Epps crossed over to Sam, who had pulled down a panel from the bulkhead and was rummaging around inside it. Sam looked up and offered them both a big smile. Her usually dorky looks were even more noticeable because of the thick goggles she had to wear due to the electronics she was dealing with.

"Hey there Epps. I'd offer you a high five man, but I'm kind of stuck in the wall," Sam said, sharing a laugh with Epps. Her eyes widened though when they landed on Vortex, "Holy crap, Megatron actually let you out of his sights?"

Vortex snorted, crossing her arms, "I am not so helpless as to need constant watching. Barricade often tells me I'm more dangerous than older mechs simply because I am a youngling."

Sam smiled darkly, going back to the panel, "Child soldiers are always the toughest. And most dedicated."

Epps fixed her with a look, making Sam fall quiet. It was rare that she talked like that, but it always alarmed Epps when she did.

Sam cursed as her comm. unit went off. Pulling it off of her belt she flipped it open, "Witwicky, how can I be of service?"

Will's voice came over the line, "Kid, I need you to find Epps and Vortex and bring them to my quarters. We need to talk."

Sam nodded, knowing Will couldn't see it, "Understood sir. We'll be there shortly."

Hanging up, Sam turned and faced the two while pulling off her goggles. But she paused, staring at Vortex who was struggling with the mass of long hair.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Um…do you want me to cut that for you?"

Vortex snarled as a strand of hair got caught in the paneling of the bulk head, "That would be greatly appreciated Lieutenant."

Sam nodded and grabbed a pair of wire cutting scissors and held onto them. Sam turned to Epps as they started to leave engineering, "You heard Will, right?"

Epps nodded as they left the room, "Of course I did kid."

Sam's eyebrows furrowed as they entered the turbolift, "Did he sound funny to you? Like…concerned or something?"

Epps frowned, crossing his arms as he began to rethink about the short conversation. Ignoring Vortex who was struggling with her hair, Epps responded, "He sounded worried about something. I'm not sure what it is, but he'll tell us soon."

Sam snorted as the doors opened, "I hope so. I hate having to guess with him."

The three walked down the hallway until they came to Will's door. Epps knocked on it while they all waited.

"Enter!" Will called from inside while the door swung open.

Entering the room, Sam quickly dragged Vortex to the bed, where the two girls sat. Will was seated at his desk, and Epps took a seat next to the girls. Sam quickly ran her fingers through Vortex's hair before she began to cut it.

Will fixed Vortex with a serious look, "Captain Kirk is explaining this to your people right now, but we decided to talk to you separately so you wouldn't be influenced into a decision, understand?"

Epps groaned at that, cradling his head in his hands, "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Will glared at him before turning back to Vortex. Leaning forward, Will made sure Vortex knew how serious he was being, "McCoy ran your blood test, and you're not human."

Vortex raised an eyebrow, making sure not to move while Sam cut off the thick locks of hair, "I know that Captain Lennox. I am from Cybertron."

Will shook his head, "Your holoform should be human, or at least that's what Megatron told McCoy. All the other holoforms Cybertronians have are human. But yours isn't."

Sam looked up, "What is she then?"

"Enochian," Will announced. Sam whistled while Epps smacked himself on the forehead.

"Enochian," Epps grumbled, "That explains everything!"

Vortex frowned. She was feeling confusion welling back up inside of her, "What is so special about Enochians?"

Epps took over this time, out of the three Starfleet members in the room, he had the most contact with Enochians, "They're a humanoid life form from the planet Gloriana in the Deuos galaxy. They're really weak empaths, they're only considered empaths because they form Bonds with others they consider close to them."

"Their hair comes in shades of blues and violets, and they're really pale," Will continued as he fixed Vortex with a searching stare, "Their eyes are either red or violet, but red seems to be rarer. And I can't remember what they're blood is based on, but they bleed blue."

Sam chuckled softly as she finished cutting Vortex's hair, "Seems like a really goo match for you. Probably better than human."

Will continued before Vortex could respond, "But because of this, the trauma of your Bonds breaking was a lot stronger than it would have been if you were human. So we're taking you to be seen by a mind healer. Her name is Zeenia Lirrel, and she's a Beldan. Which means she is an incredibly strong empath, and most likely to be able to help you. She's agreed to meet up on a Federation colony, where Optimus decided to regroup. We'll figure out our next move from there."

Sam frowned, the moment Will mentioned a colony, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. That meant where ever they were going was someplace she didn't want to be.

"What colony are we going to?" Sam asked, dreading the answer.

Will groaned, running a hand through his hair, "Tarsus IV."

Sam froze while Epps let out a low whistle.

"Seriously?" the Commander asked, shaking his head, "That's just asking for trouble."

Vortex cocked her head to the side, "I am afraid I do not understand your reason to avoid this…Tarsus IV."

Will and Epps shared a look before Will responded to her.

"Tarsus IV was the site of one of the worst famines in Federation history," Will explained softly, "The problems from the famine led to a massacre of the colonists, which then led to a civil war. The situations there are still pretty dangerous right now. Which is why I want both of you," here Will gave Epps and Sam pointed looks, "To get plenty of sleep. We're getting there tomorrow, and you'll both need the sleep. Vortex, I need to talk to you about something real quick."

Sam and Epps stood, and both gave Will a salute before leaving the room. Epps punched Sam in the shoulder as a friendly farewell, and then the two went their separate ways. Sam didn't react until she was safely in her room. Once the door was locked, she fell onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Sam shut her eyes, memoires of blood, starvation, and hopelessness playing on her closed eye lids. "Looks like I'm going home," Sam whispered to the night air.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	11. Homecoming Arc: I

**Welcome to the Homecoming arc! It will be headed for Tarsus IV, so all the usual warnings about famine, genocide, and murder will be going into this. **

**Also warning out a lot of OC's will be coming in. I originally just wanted Vortex for plot reasons, but more were needed. Please bear with them for the sake of the story. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

** Homecoming I**

Bonds were a dangerous thing. When they were kept intact, they created some of the closest relationships in the universe. The Cybertronians had incredibly close family units, and Sparklings often needed reassurance from their Creators as they grew.

But Sparkbonds were the most dangerous. If two mechs were Sparkbonded and one died, the other was likely to commit suicide because of the broken bond. And if the mech wasn't able to offline, then insanity often followed. And a second Sparkbond was remarkably rare, and while it did offset insanity for a while, the insanity never truly went away.

Which explained most of Starscream's behavior during the war. The scientist had been neutral at the start. But his Sparkmate Skyfire had been a Decepticon. But during the beginning of the war, Skyfire had been killed by Ironhide. Starscream had gone insane from the grief, because his trine mates wouldn't let him commit suicide.

Now, insanity in a soldier was both a blessing and a curse. Because of it, Starscream had been willing to take on any mission, had killed more of the enemy, and was one of the best soldiers. But the downside was he simply saw no reason to not try and kill Megatron. What had made the situation worse, was that Megatron seemed to be losing his mind as the war continued.

It had been Skywarp who figured out what was wrong with their leader first. Skywarp and Thundercracker had always stuck close to Starscream after Skyfire's death, and both had noticed how relaxed their trine mate was around their leader. And Skywarp had been stunned to realize that somehow, without realizing it, Starscream had fallen in love with Megatron.

Skywarp had worked hard to keep Starscream away from Megatron after that, but the two still had to meet, seeing how Starscream was second in command. And somehow while Skywarp wasn't watching, the two managed to Bond. But no one had realized it was because of that Bond that Megatron was going insane mostly because no one knew it was there. It wasn't until Megatron's death on Earth that any of the Decepticon's realized the Bond was there, and that was mostly because Starscream became even more insane.

Things had calmed down after Chicago, and Starscream had actually mellowed out after receiving Vortex as a Sparkling. Which made her death that much harder on the Seeker.

Skywarp traded a nervous look with Tundercracker as they waited in Megatron's office. Their leader had sent a message to Soundwave, ordering all the ex-Decepticons to gather so he could debrief them about the peace talks. The Autobots were gathered in the Optimus's office right then listening to the same thing.

The three Seekers had claimed the back wall of the officer, Thundercracker and Skywarp curled around Starscream and sending gentle reassurances to him through their Bond. The other Decepticons were scattered throughout the office, waiting patiently for Megatron to fill them in.

"What could possibly be taking him so long?" Thundercracker murmured, careful not to think anything negative in fear of upsetting Starscream again.

Barricade snorted, crossing his arms, "Probably been attacked by the slagging Ziacon…" He froze under the glares from the two Seekers before hastily continuing, "Although he's probably fine. It's not like Megatron can't fight."

Skywarp just continued to glare, "Barricade, you're making it worse. Just shut up."

The mech shrugged, but wisely decided not to say anything. There was nothing scarier than an enraged Seeker, and having Thundercrack and Skywarp go after him was the worst possibility that could happen.

Soundwave inclined his head, "Transmission: beginning."

Silence filled the room as every optic turned to stare at the screen in front of them. Megatron's holoform appeared, which was expected. Their true forms had been left behind on Cybertron when the group who planned on the negotiations had left. But what they didn't expect was the exhaustion that lined Megatron's face on the screen.

The Decepticon's shared concerned looks, except for Starscream who was starring at the floor. Hook was the first one to speak, "Lord Megatron…is everything alright?"

Megatron snarled, running a hand through his hair, "No, it is not all right. The Ziacon managed to get some group called the Federation involved with the war, and the Federation is run by humans."

"That's impossible," Skywarp blurted out as everyone turned to look at him, "When Earth was left, all predictions showed that they wouldn't reach space traveling capabilities for another four vorns."

"Well they've managed to reach it now," Megatron snarled, "One of the human Lieutenants found something that caused to peace talks to fall apart. Because of that we're being taken to a colony planet called Tarsus IV to work with this so called Federation. Right now, there is a Federation captain with a personal grudge against the Ziacon because they destroyed his ship. He's the one pushing for an alliance with Cybertron as we speak."

Megatron sighed, before addressing the room, "Everyone but Soundwave and Starscream, leave now."

All the Decepticons rose to follow Megatron's orders, all except for Skywarp and Thundercracker. The two shared a look, pointedly ignoring their leader who was waiting for them to leave.

:He did say we were to leave Warp: Thundercracker sent over the comm.

Skywarp scowled, resting his head on Starscream's shoulder, :Have you been in Screamer's head recently? There's no way I'm leaving him alone right now.:

Thundercracker sighed, :I understand Warp, but I don't think Lord Megatron will allow us both to stay.:

The two Bonded Seekers shared another look, before Thundercracker stood and left the room. Skywarp glared, daring either of the mechs to make him leave. Starscream would be pretty much useless if anything happened, but Skywarp like to think that Starscream would have helped him if he hadn't been catatonic.

Megatron sighed, "I take it you're not leaving Skywarp. No, I figured as much. Now, there is information that cannot leave this room surrounding the failed peace conference. No, Skywarp, you can't tell Thundercrack."

Skywarp shrugged at that, before pressing closer to Starscream. Megatron frowned, "A human Lieutenant found something the Ziacon stole from us. The Allspark placed it in…an organic body for protection. The reason why this Federation is working with us is because of this organic form."

"Question: what is the organic lifeform," Soundwave asked.

Megatron suddenly looked afraid, his eyes landing on Starscream unintentionally. Skywarp frowned. Whatever Megatron was hiding, it was something that caused him to fear his Bondmate's reaction.

Megatron sighed, before answering, "It's Vortex. She's alive."

There was silence for a moment, enough for Skywarp to become very afraid. And from Megatron's reaction, he was very right in fearing for his life. Nothing ever came between a Seeker and their Sparkling.

Starscream looked up, optics beyond furious. They immediately landed on his Bondmate, causing Megatron to wince.

"What did you say?" Starscream hissed.

Page break

The group of Autobots in the next room froze when they heard the screaming start. They all shared a look, before Jazz broke the silence.

"What the slag did Megatron do to get Starscream that angry?" Jazz asked Optimus, who looked exhausted in his holoform.

Optimus shook his head, "That, I cannot tell you. But Megatron will not be hearing the end of this for a long time."

Jazz chuckled at that while Optimus ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had picked up on Earth.

"As you heard, " Optimus continued, "Ratchet and Ironhide ran into a group of humans who are part of Starfleet, the military of an organization known as the Federation. It seems to be run mostly by humans, but there are other alien species in their midst."

Stunned silence fell over the group. Ratchet and Ironhide stood smugly by, they had told their story to the group, but none of the Autobots had believed them.

Prowl was the first to break the silence, "That's impossible. The humans should not have the capabilities for space travel."

Ratchet responded before Optimus could, "From what Captain Lennox said, humans got warp capability at the end of the third world war. It seems to be in the mid 21st century that this war happened."

Silence fell again, this time broke by Wheeljack, "Did you just say Captain Lennox?"

"Starfleet Captain William Lennox of the USS _Constellation_," Optimus explained, struggling not to smile at the stunned looks on his men's faces, "His second in command is Commander Robert Epps, and the only survivor from their ship is Lieutenant Samantha Witwicky."

All optics turned to Bumblebee. Any mech with half a processor knew how badly Samuel's death had affected the Scout. Bumblebee took a step forward, "She is…a descendant of Sam's?"

"I ran a scan over her when she was threatening to shoot me," Ratchet grumbled, "The results were…strange. The Lieutenant nearly has an exact replica of Samuel's DNA, except for her missing a Y chromosome."

"That's…not possible," Bumblebee muttered, "Is it?"

"It's highly improbable, but possible," Ratchet just shook his head, "The statistical probability is overwhelmingly against her having that genetic sequence."

Ironhide snorted, crossing his arms, "She certainly acts similar to how he did after becoming an ambassador."

All of the optics turned to Optimus, who shook his head, "I have not had the opportunity to observe her actions. Lieutenant Witwicky spends most of her time with either her captain of commander, or in engineering."

Wheeljack perked up, "She's an engineer?"

Optimus frowned. He looked much older, and obviously the Lieutenant's existence was troubling him, "She also appears to be a weapons specialist. The Lieutenant has at least created one weapon, but it is likely she's created more."

Prowl frowned, too busy thinking to realize Jazz was pressed against him, "She sounds dangerous. This Lieutenant can be trusted?"

Optimus finally smiled, "She has already performed a great service for Cybertron. The Lieutenant does not seem to be a threat to us. In fact, she seems to be pushing for Cybertron to enter their Federation."

Before anyone could answer, there was a knocking against Optimus's door. Standing, the leader of the Autobots opened the door quickly. It would not do to ignore the captain on a military vessel because of a meeting. But while the Autobots knew this, they were not prepared for who was on the other side of the door.

"Samantha," Bumblebee jumped when Optimus spoke to her, "Is Captain Lennox asking for me?"

There was an airy laugh before the girl responded. Her voice was more masculine than the typical human female, and a barely noticeable accent was detected by Jazz when she stressed her vowels.

"Sorry big guy," Samantha announced, and the Autobots could see her leaning against the doorway, "But Will's taking a break. Slipped him some of Bone's sleeping pills about an hour ago so he'd rest."

Optimus chuckled at that, "Then why are you here Lieutenant?"

"We're nearing Tarsus IV," Samantha said, stepping into the room. All optics were immediately trained on the bag she was carrying. It could be a bomb…

"Tarsus has a strange field around the quadrant," Sam explained, shrugging while Optimus raised an eyebrow, "Ion field around the whole thing. Disrupts communications and all that jazz. Scotty's swamped with work because the field messes with the engines and causes all sorts of problems. So, cause I'm not officially part of the _Enterprise's_ crew, Scotty asked is I could reconfigure your communications unit, because pretty soon it won't work. And that would be bad, because then you can't talk to anyone but the ship's crew, who are all crazy…Sorry. Rambling again."

Optimus placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright Lieutenant. However, I am currently in a meeting."

Samantha snorted, "We're hitting the ion field in about ten minutes. Besides, I always carry a heavy duty sound muffler in my bag. As soon as I put it on, I won't hear a sound you say. And you can try it, you don't have to trust me on this one."

"I assure you Lieutenant, I trust your discretion," Optimus said allowing her into the room. The Autobots then had the chance to observe her. Curly brown hair fell to her shoulders and hung in front of smiling brown eyes. She was thin, and looked gawky with her big happy grin with the large headphones over her ears.

Samantha practically skipped over to the paneling and quickly pulled it off. She reached into her bag and pulled on a pair of thick gloves before going after the electronic part of the bulkhead with a screwdriver. Optimus gave her a bemused look when she started to hum before turning back to the screen.

"What do you think of her?" Optimus asked.

"She's amazing," Wheekjack said, "Let's keep her."

Ironhide reached over and smacked him. Prowl was the first one to respond, "She is remarkably like Samuel. Could it be her genetic makeup?"

Ratchet shook his head, "No, that would not make her so closely similar to the boy, but she is remarkably like the boy. And her captain and commander are incredibly similar to William and Epps."

Jazz grinned wickedly, "I can't wait to meet them! I can meet them, right?"

Optmius sighed, casting a quick glance at Samantha before continuing, "Because of the current situation between Cybertronains and the Federation I will be asking for Jazz and Ironhide to come to Tarsus IV."

Bumblebee shifted, "Sir, would it be alright if I attended? I would like to meet with this Samantha."

Optimus nodded, "That is acceptable. Captain Lennox seemed excited for any Cybertronian to come to Tarsus. But the holoform must be used at all times according to Commander Epps."

Prowl's optics narrowed, "Why would that be needed?"

"There is a dangerous political situation apparently," Optimus just shook his head, "Captain Lennox refused to clarify."

"There is a member of Starfleet in the room," Ironhide announced, "The captain said she is incredibly high ranking in Starfleet because of her secretarial duties to him."

Jazz snorted, "She's a secretary?"

Optimus sent him a warning look before leaning over and tapping Samantha on the shoulder. Samantha replaced the panel before pulling off the headphones.

"That should be it," she said, smiling up at Optimus before frowning at him, "Am I in trouble or something? I swear, I could not hear whatever you were talking about."

Optimus offered her a kind smile, "My men were wondering if you could shed some light on the situation on Tarsus IV."

Samantha's eyes widened before darkening at the question.

"Tarsus IV is the worst planet I've ever been to," Samantha snarled, ripping off her gloves and throwing them into her bag. She didn't care about the noises of alarm leaking through the communication unit as she continued, "Thirteen years ago, there was a famine on the planet. The governor," Samantha spat the name out, "Decided the food supplies would only keep half of the planets population alive. So he ordered the death's of four thousand colonists. Several survived, and a group of them became the Resistance, freedom fighters who kept up alive.

"The Resistance managed to overthrow the governor with Starfleet's help. The Federation then put in a new governor, this one hand picked by the Resistance members. She…is not well liked by the first governor's council," Sam rolled her eyes as she clambered to her feet. The open hatred was wiped of her face, but she was defiantly still angry, "The council has been trying to take over the government and get rid of the current governor. The Resistance is still backing her, because she's not an arrogant asshole who tried to kill them off, and because of that the people back her. But the council has begun hiring mercs to go after her."

Samantha offered them a tight smile, "It's a wonderful planet, isn't it?"

Prowl was the first to respond after a long moment of silence, "Lieutenant, you seem to be well versed in the history of Tarsus IV."

Samantha snorted as she headed out of the room, "I have to be. It's my home planet after all."

And with her leaving, a heavy silence fell over the Autobots.

Page break

Sam paused as she entered her room. Lounging on her bed wearing Starfleet issued slacks and shirt, was Vortex. The young Decepticon was lying on her stomach and gazing at the replicator with surprising intensity.

Sam stepped more into the room, and raised an eyebrow, "Hi Vortex. Having fun over there?"

Vortex snorted, her eyes narrowed, "Hardly. Captain Kirk sent me in here, saying girl talk was appropriate."

"Uh huh," Sam muttered, taking a seat on the bed next to Vortex, "Why do you need girl talk?"

"How the slag would I know?" Vortex sighed, rolling onto her back, "Kirk was escorting me to father's room, and when he opened the door all we could hear was yelling. So Kirk brought me here and I've been waiting here for the last four cycles."

Sam snorted, "So you decided to have a staring contest with the replicator?"

Vortex sighed, "You're technology is so confusing. Why would you need to replicate anything when you could use the energizer to beam it on board."

"It's not that easy," Sam explained as she leaned forward. She loved talking about the energizers, "The energizer has a specific range and many of the instruments are very sensitive to atmospheric anomalies. It's very likely we could try to energize say…a watermelon, have a thunderstorm or an ion field screw up the technologies and then the watermelon just…well…disperses into atoms in space."

Vortex raised an eyebrow, "I must admit Samantha, I am impressed. No Cybertronian expected humans to be this advanced with their technology for another hundred years."

Sam grinned at that, "Everything changed with the third world war. When everything crumbled to dust around humankind, we had to look somewhere other than Earth for hope."

Vortex leaned forward, eyes bright with curiosity, "Where did humanity look, if Earth was no longer an option?"

"The stars," Sam leaned back against the bulkhead, smiling happily at Vortex, "And even now, when humans feel lost, when they're lost all hope in tomorrow, we look to the stars and dream about the worlds out there, and what an impact we'll make on them."

The two just stared at each other, the human and the Cybertronian. Both smiled at each other, of course Vortex's smile was much smaller than Sam's but still there. It seemed that they weren't as different as they had thought.

"So," Sam drawled, 'Tell me more about Cybertron."

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	12. Homecoming Arc: II

**Vortex and Sam are slowly becoming friends. Being the only girls on a mostly guy ship in the middle of space will do that to you. **

**Now we get to learn more about Sammy's past, and yes she is a little criminal. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**Homecoming II**

For a land stained with the blood of innocents, Tarsus IV was deceptively beautiful. The three moons hung in the violet sky, rotating around Tarsus III which moved through the sky like the sun. The two suns of Tarsus IV were not noticeable in the sky because of the moons around the other planet. But the two suns baked the land, making it as hot as Earth's deserts.

The golden fields of grass stretched as far as the eye could see, and far in the distance was a spattering of green which was the start of the forests. Smoke could be seen curling up near the horizon from where the civilization was.

Sam couldn't help it, seeing the perfect world made her want to puke. And Jim, her brother in arms, refused to beam down to the planet because it made him sick. The lucky bastard didn't have to deal with this.

"I'm going to spike his water with strawberries," Sam grumbled, scowling at the happy landscape in front of her.

"That seems useless," Vortex drawled as she walked up next to Sam, "Allergic reactions are weak. If you truly wish to make him sorry, you should break both of his knee caps."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Will turned and glared at Megatron.

"What the hell did you teach her?" Will demanded, seeing the proud grin on Megatron's face, "Breaking people's knee caps? That is not appropriate punishment!"

"Says you," Vortex muttered, making Sam snort in amusement.

The group had been beamed down, although Jim refused to even go in the transporter room. The three Cybertronian's had been sent down, and the diplomatic team from the _Constellation_, which translated to the survivors from the Ziacon attack. The Enterprise would be tracking them until they reached the main town.

It was highly likely they would be attacked on their way to the governor's mansion. Jim hadn't been joking during his warning to them that while the civil war had officially ended, many refused to recognize the tentative peace.

"It's gorgeous," Epps muttered as he turned back to the landscape, "Makes you wonder how anyone from this world could harm someone."

Sam just glared at the landscape. Anyone who had been on this hell hole thirteen years ago knew just how easy it was to kill someone. It was defiantly easy enough for a ten year old to learn how to fire a phaser and use a knife to get food.

Will was the only one to notice Sam's scowl. He gently bumped his Lieutenant with his shoulder, offering her a grin at her confused look.

"You'll be fine kid," Will muttered quiet enough so no one else could hear them, "You're a soldier now, so quit living in the past."

Sam smiled, leaning against Will, "Anything you say captain."

"If you two lovebirds are done having a moment, us mortals would like to know where the hell we're going!" Epps yelled, causing Sam and Will to jump apart.

"Captain Kirk did say the governor of the planet would be coming to meet with us," Optimus said, "And the governor promised transportation."

Sam nodded at that, "Probably aqua shuttle."

Seeing the blank looks from the others, Sam quickly explained, hands waving in the air as she talked, "It's like a boat, but runs on solar energy, and it runs in the aqueducts. People on Tarsus are really obsessed with nothing damaging their grain production. And the famine just made it worse."

Vortex scowled, "It's very inefficient."

"That's Tarsus IV in a nut shell," Will said with a chuckle, "It's a planet of liberal hippies who love a good party before doing anything serious."

Megatron scowled, staring out over the life filled planet, "Sounds like a waste of a colony."

Epps glared at him, "People fought and died for this hunk of rock. If any of the Resistance members hear you say that, they will kill you and Starfleet won't care. They just want to keep this generation happy so they don't bring up the massacre."

Will couldn't help the small grin that crossed his face at Epps explanation, "Not to mention the Lieutenant is a Resistance sympathizer. One of the more radical sympathizers if the stories from the Academy are anything to go by."

Sam flushed as every one turned to regard her.

"So I set Komak's hover car on fire," Sam groused, ignoring the impressed looks from Vortex and Megatron and the surprise from Optimus, "Big deal. Scotty sent Archer's beagle to god knows where, and Jim glued everything in Pike's office to the ceiling."

There was a moment of silence.

"I like this fleshbag," Megatron announced with a booming laugh, clapping Sam on the back so hard she nearly fell over, "Sparklet, you should spend more time with this one!"

Vortex nodded, until Optimus cut in, "Is arson allowed in Starfleet Captain?"

"Oh hell no!" Epps answered, giving Sam a hard look, "Sammy here should have been expelled. How the hell were you not expelled?"

Sam shrugged, face bright red, "Komak couldn't really prove anything. I mean, why would I leave evidence behind? And I burned anything incriminating in Jim's dorm room so it wouldn't be connected back to me."

There was another stunned moment of silence before Epps threw his hands up into the air.

"How!" Epps yelled, "How do you get away with this shit? Anyone else would be in jail for _arson_! But no, Lieutenant Witwicky isn't even penalized for it!"

Sam smirked, "Pike gave me an award for creative thinking…"

"SHUT UP SAM!"

Sam and Will traded smug looks while Epps stormed off, growling about smart ass lieutenants who didn't know when to stop. Optimus had wisely decided to stay out of the argument and was staring out across the landscape.

"It is remarkably beautiful," Optimus murmured, spotting a variety of wildflowers peeking through the grass.

Will stepped up next to him, shaking his head, "Apparently this was all burned to the ground thirteen years ago. The people here are…incredibly dedicated to surviving and moving forward."

Optimus smiled sadly, "It seems we are not so different from these people."

Silence reigned for a long while. No one was quite sure how to respond to that. Sam didn't even want to be back on this planet, but seeing it bursting with life again…almost made her forget all the bad things that had happened here.

Epps finally broke the silence, "So, who's coming to get us anyways?"

"Doctor Lirrel is coming to get us," Will said, "From what I could gather, Governor Mabyn is dealing with a problem."

Epps grinned, noticing the annoyed look on Will's face, "And what is the problem captain?"

"Someone," Will snarled, glaring at the smug looks on Sam and Epps's faces, "called Kirk in a panic last night. Apparently, giant robots landed in the fields yesterday in the middle of the work day. The civilians panicked, thinking the previous governor sent them to kill them off. Governor Mabyn is trying to calm them down. She succeeded. Then one the robots turned into a car, and the panic started up again."

There was silence, before Epps snorted. Sam burst into hysterical laughter at that. She actually fell to the ground and began pounding on the dirt while tears streamed down her face. Epps cackled manically before falling to the ground next to Sam. Vortex chuckled softly, while Megatron and Optimus just watched the humans, confusion evident on their faces.

Will glared at his crew, "Both of you shut up."

"Th-this," Sam gasped out, "Is why we don't ever want to be captains!"

"I can just see it!" Epps cried, poking Sam in the side, "These workers…just harvesting corn and then BAM! Giant alien robot!"

"Imagine the governor's face!" Sam said, "Her eyes must have gotten so wide at that!"

"She probably flipped!" Epps whispered, before the two dissolved into giggles again.

Will kicked Epps in the ribs, before staring at the stunned Cybertronian's.

"I am terribly sorry about this," Will told them, glaring at his crew, "My commanding officers are idiots. Now, did you tell them to land here?"

Optimus shook his head, "I did not give any such orders."

"Slag," All eyes turned to Megatron, "Skywarp asked where they should land, and I told him to figure it out."

"Father," Vortex drawled out, "Skywarp is a moron. Why would you tell him that."

"Your mother was very angry with me," Megatron told her, "After the first hour of screaming, I gave up and told Skywarp to do whatever he wanted."

There was another pause before Will turned and glared at Epps, "Do not say it!"

Epps and Sam traded a look before Sam whispered, "Oh my god, he's so whipped!"

And then the two dissolved back into laughter. Vortex covered her mouth with her hands, struggling not to show her amusement where her father could see it. But judging from his glare, she wasn't doing very well.

Megatron ruffled her hair, making her yell out in surprise. "You're beginning to take after your mother," Megatron growled out, "That is very dangerous."

"Sam, Epps, stop embarrassing me," Will ordered, causing his two officers to try to act like they weren't rolling on the floor laughing. Sam and Epps managed to stumble to their feet, leaning against each other and shaking with suppressed laughter. Will stopped glaring at his men when Optimus began to chuckle.

Will spun around, eyes betrayed. But the Prime just pointed at where Megatron and Vortex were.

"Forgive me Captain Lennox, but it is not often I see my brother interacting with his Sparkling," Optimus explained. Will turned and smiled in amusement. Megatron had Vortex in a head lock, and the girl was struggling to break free. But it was obvious that it was a way of family bonding and not a serious fight from the smile on the girl's face.

Sam let herself fall against Will, giggling madly as her captain wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling over.

"Zeenia is going to love this," Sam said to Will, finally composing herself.

Optimus turned to her, "Do you know the doctor Samantha?"

"We go way back," Sam admitted lowly, but offered Optimus a shaky smile. No way was she telling him that they had met when the streets ran red with blood, "Zeenia is like an older sister to me. She's an incredible medic, one of the best. In fact, she's in charge of Starfleet's medical track."

Epps stopped laughing, "Wait, it's that Zeenia? The crazy doctor who made half of the medical students cry?"

Sam grinned widely, not noticing the alarmed look on Optimus's face, "That's her! I haven't seen Zeenia in years! Jim's going to be so mad he missed out seeing her."

"You're allowing my Sparkling to be looked at be an insane medic?" Megatron growled out, holding Vortex close. Instead of the rough housing with her, it was now a protective hold.

"Ignore Epps," Will said quickly, glaring at his second in command who shrugged weakly, "Doctor Lirrel is one of the best doctors in the universe. She's just…intense about her students not accidentally killing their patients."

"And she's a Beldan!" Epps cried, shaking his head, "Those are some strange people."

"What is a Beldan?" Vortex asked.

"They're a race of strong empaths," Sam explained quickly, hearing voices coming through the fields, "You'll see her soon enough. Just…don't comment on her hair. Or her skin color."

"It's a killable offense on Belda," Will explained.

The soldiers of Tarsus IV came through the grass. Dressed in all black with gray armor, they carried phaser rifles and their faces were covered with masks. These were the soldiers who survived a revolution, the men and women who had been baptized by fire and proven themselves through the blood soaked years after Starfleet intervened.

"SAMMY! BABY I MISSED YOU!"

And there was Zeenia, in all her glory. Beldan's are striking, one of the most recognizable races in the universe. When textbooks described their skin as black, most people assumed they looked African in decent. They didn't. Their skin was black, as black as space. Golden eyes with cat like pupils shone eerily in their faces. The men were tall and willowy, the women tall and curvy.

Zeenia, who was of average beauty in Beldan eyes, was gorgeous in the eyes of men. She wore science blues, and her medical bag sat stately on her hip. Where Sam was awkward, Zeenia was elegant. Tall, long legged, golden hair streaming behind her and with a perfect figure as she ran up to Sam, she was every man's dream.

Wrapping Sam into a tight hug, Zeenia began to babble excitedly in her musical voice, "Oh Sammy, it's been far too long! Why don't you come visit me? Oh wait, it's because you're too busy with those engines of yours! Ocean missed you greatly sweetheart, now don't give me that look. Just because she doesn't say it doesn't mean she doesn't feel it!"

Epps just shook his head, "Doctors man. Every single one of them in insane."

"William Lennox!" Zennia yelled, releasing Sam and stepping up to Will. The Cybertronian's gasped when her hair changed colors. The roots turned red, and then it spread down to the tips, making her hair bright scarlet, "Where is my patient?"

Will pushed Vortex forward, "She's right here Doctor."

Golden eyes took in the girl, narrowed in thought. An eyebrow rose when Megatron put a protective hand on Vortex's shoulder. With a huff, Zeenia threw her hands up into the air.

"The girl seems fine," Zeenia announced, "But I'll need to have a closer look at her mind with both the parents present."

Optimus inclined his head, "Both of her parents are now present on this planet."

Sam quickly explained when Zeenia's hair turned orange, a sign of confusion, "The giant robots? Vortex is one of them."

Zeenia's hair turned yellow, "No. Just…no."

Sam shrugged, knowing what Zeenia was thinking about, but refusing to acknowledge, "We'll talk about it later Zeenia. We need to head to the governor's mansion before any radicals decide to attack us."

Zeenia huffed, hair going back to red as she flounced back down the road to their transportation. Vortex followed silently with Megatron right behind her. Epps and Will came after them while Sam and Optimus walked together.

"How dies it feel Lieutenant," Optimus asked, "To return to your home world?"

"There's no place like home big guy," Sam admitted as they entered the aqua shuttle, "And I can safely say that Tarsus may be my home world, but it stopped being my home thirteen years ago."

And it was then Sam realized the difference between herself and Optimus. He wished to return to his broken home planet, while Sam wanted nothing more than to stay as far away from hers as possible. Never before had the division between them been so great while under the violet Tartain skies.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	13. Homecoming Arc: III

**Hope everyone is still enjoying the story. It's been a long one, probably the longest I've ever worked on. **

**Sam's going to be found out in this chapter, and it took forever on figuring out the logistics of it. Hope it pleases everyone. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**Homecoming III**

When Bumblebee landed on Tarsus IV, he wasn't sure what to expect. But he defiantly had not expected the welcome they had received.

After they entered the atmosphere, then landed in the giant wheat fields. That was when the trouble started. The civilians panicked at seeing their precious crops destroyed, fearing another famine was upon them.

Then Ironhide transformed and everything went from bad to worse. The human soldiers with them lifted their strange weapons and opened fire.

By the Pitt, those things hurt. Bumblebee had quickly transformer to try to reason with the humans, but they just continued to shoot at them while the civilians ran away. The others had transformed also, but that had just added to the chaos.

It eventually died down when a strange woman had shown up, and by strange, Bumblebee meant that she was blue. Bright blue skin with ice blue eyes under dark blue hair. She was a strange looking human, and never once did it cross his processor that this was a different species than human.

The blue skinned female stormed up to them, flanked by the human guards. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she pulled back her foot and kicked Ironhide as hard as she could.

"Who in the name of Ninian are you!" she screamed, hands on her hips, "Just coming to my planet and destroying the colonists work! If there's not enough food this year, I'm coming after you big guy!"

Jazz snorted, "I like this one, Hide. We should keep her."

She turned and glared at Jazz, "You're next, you piece of scrap metal! By the time I get through with you, you'll be so rusty even Klingons won't want to use you!"

:Are all female humans this feisty?: Skywarp sent to Starscream.

Starscream's optics narrowed, :I'm not entirely sure this is a human. The skin tone and hair color seem natural.:

:An alien?: Skywarp asked, optics wide at the strange female who was back to screaming at Ironhide, :How strange that this species is so similar to the humans.:

"And who the zuill are you?" the female snarled at the rest of them, stepping forward Although she was so small, she managed to make herself seem dangerous, "Tell me your names, or I'll have the guards blow you apart!"

Ironhide snorted, nudging her with his foot, "You think humans can harm us?"

"Oh, I know my soldiers can harm you," she snarled, kicking his foot again, "You bastards have to sleep sometime, and when you do, my men will climb inside of you and rip out all your parts. So there!"

There was a stunned silence at the woman's reaction. But the silence was not broken by the Cybertronian's, instead it was broken by one of the human guard's coming up to the woman.

The two began conversing quietly, before the woman turned back to them, her eyes irate.

"Are you Cybertronian's?" she demanded, and at their nods, she quickly continued, "Well why didn't you say so! Honestly, I was expecting you days ago! And didn't Pike say you'd look like humans not to scare everyone!"

All the Cybertronian's turned to stare at Skywarp, who shrugged sheepishly.

"Oops?" Skywarp offered, before Starscream smacked him. With a sigh, the female turned around.

"Just…follow me," she begged. And as she started back to the mansion, she froze hearing the recognizable screams of terror from her people. Turning back, she watched at the group of robots turned into a series of car and planes.

Bumblebee reared back in shock when she threw her hands into the air and screamed, "Son of a bitch!"

This female was rather…strange.

Page break

Sam and Epps were laughing again.

Will felt deep remorse well up inside him when he realized these were his best officers, the only two besides himself on their ship who actually accomplished anything.

The two had started off the meeting with Governor Mabyn professionally, which was good. Zeenia had grabbed Vortex and skipped off to whatever tests she had planned. The moment Mabyn had entered, she pointed to a side room off of the main hallway and ordered Megatron and Optimus to go in there.

Her exact words were, "You're subordinates are dumbasses. They're behind that door, make sure they don't terrify the population again. If they do, I'm kicking your asses."

Then Mabyn pushed the two in there, and started to chew him out. Will wasn't sure why she was mad at him, seeing how he hadn't done anything. Really, it was all Megatron's fault from what Vortex had told him before she was spirited away.

When Mabyn had finished complaining about the Cybertronian's landing on the wheat, Will's officers had the good grace to wait for a second before starting to laugh.

"Oh god," Epps gasped out, leaning against the wall for support as he howled with laughter, "You threatened Ironhide? How awesome is that!"

Sam snorted, laying on Will so she wouldn't fall over as her body convulsed with giggles, "Governor, you are my favorite person in the world! No offense Will."

"None taken," Will told her, pushing Sam off of his shoulder. The Lieutenant shrieked as she fell to the ground. Will turned back to Mabyn, "I am so sorry about all of this governor. I honestly thought one of their leaders would give them better instructions."

Mabyn shook her head, her long dark blue hair flowing around her face, "There is not problem Captain Lennox. When you mentioned there were two leaders, I should have expected their men to either be confused or not be able to follow orders. Not that it matters anymore. The civilians are panicking and my guards are ready to shoot them."

Will wasn't able to respond because at that moment, the door to the side room flew open. Megatron's holoform flew through the door and landed on the ground, hard.

"Holy shit," Epps whispered, all traces of mirth gone. The moment Megatron had gone through the door, every guard in the room pulled out their weapons and had them trained on the door.

Then another figure stormed through the door, eyes narrowed. The human was male, that much was clear from body structure. Pale, with flashing red eyes, he was smaller than Megatron's holoform, but still taller then Sam. Long silver hair was pulled back in a ponytail that fell to his shoulder blades, with a light purple streak traveling down the middle of his hair.

"Is that Starscream?" Sam whispered when the male began yelling at Megatron in the clicking language of Cybertron.

"Has to be," Will muttered, "Seeing how Megatron hasn't killed him yet."

"Defiantly married," Epps muttered, watching Megatron get to his feet and cross his arms. The two glared at each other, neither one seeming like they would be the first to back down.

"He's whipped," Sam hissed into Will's ear, and Epps began to laugh again. Will couldn't help it. He was supposed to keep his image as a professional when first contact with another species happened, but the image in front of him was just too funny.

Will snorted, before pushing Sam off of him. "Lieutenant," Will said, struggling to keep his amusement from his voice, "If you continue with that line of discussion, I'm going to have to arrest you for arson."

Sam began to protest harshly, waving her arms around while Mabyn stormed over to the arguing pair. Without seeming to think about it, she pulled back her arm and punched Megatron in the arm, glaring at him.

The stunned silence from the Lord Protector was enough for Mabyn to address him.

"Now that you've seen that group of idiots," Mabyn snarled, hands on her hips, "I would like for the peace talks to begin. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can get off of my planet!"

Mabyn stormed off down the hallway, the Starfleet officials falling into step behind her. They knew better than to anger her, the governor of Tarsus was famous for her temperamental outbreaks. Starfleet was terrified of this woman, and soon, the Cybertronians would fear her also.

"She is impressive," Epps muttered under his breath.

Will just sighed, knowing there would be huge problems between her and Megatron in the future, "She's going to get Tarsus pulled into a war against the Decepticons if she isn't careful."

Sam snorted, "She'd kick their asses back to Cybertron, don't even joke about it."

Page break

Vortex was not happy. She had been looking forward to seeing her mother, but the moment they entered the mansion, the deranged doctor dragged her off for tests. Now she was forced to lie down on a couch with strange wires attached to her temples and several other areas on her head.

"What purpose does this serve?" Vortex demanded, glaring at Zeenia.

The doctor happily skipped to a monitor, her hair a bright pink for the moment. "I'm just reading your brain scans," Zeenia announced flippantly, rolling her eyes, "There are anomalies in your brain waves, tied more to the right side of your brain. I take it Cybertronian's are rather logical?"

Vortex opened her mouth to respond, but Zeenia cut her off, "Of course you are, what am I saying? You come from a race of robots…"

Vortex snarled, "Illogical organic."

Zennia offered her a blinding grin, "You sound like my mate, how cute. Now, shut your eyes and lean back, I need to study these scans."

Vortex shut her eyes and relaxed. She knew better than to ignore medics, it tended to get you injured. Vortex quickly drifted off into a light recharge, soothed into unconsciousness by the doctor's humming…

_She was curled against her mother's Spark, listening as her mother conversed with his trine. But Vortex perked up when they mentioned a name of a mech she had never heard before. _

"_Mother," Vortex asked, causing every optic to be drawn to her, "Who was Skyfire?"_

_Starscream's optics dimmed at the name, and Vortex froze. She could feel sadness coming through their shared Bond. Vortex hated making her mother sad, just like she hated making her father angry._

"_Skyfire…was a close friend," Starscream explained to his Sparkling, ignoring the concerned looks from his trine, "He died a long time ago Sparklet."_

_Vortex frowned, starring at the ground in thought, "Then why doesn't he come back, like the other mechs did?"_

_Thundercracker answered so Starscream wouldn't have to, "He returned to the Well of Sparks long before the war was even over. It's been….so many vorns since his passing that his frame has probably rusted away."_

_Vortex just sat there, thinking over that for a moment. Then, in the style of most Sparklings, she turned so she could hug her mothers chasis while sending reassurance over the Bond._

"_I'm sorry Mother," Vortex whispered._

_A strong hand landed on her head, "It's alright Sparklet."_

_That was the first time she really noticed mortality. _

_She met her best friend in a bad way. Her mother had sent her to pick up her father from work. The reasoning behind it was that her father could never say no to her. _

_But on her way to his office, she ran into another Sparkling. _

"_Watch it," the dark blue Sparkling snapped._

_Vortex narrowed her red optics, snarling right back at him, "You watch it aft head!"_

"_Who are you calling aft head you slagger?" the Sparkling demanded, his blue optics enraged. _

"_You…you…stupid head!" Vortex yelled, her hands resting on her hips. _

_With a snarl, the Sparkling threw himself at her, and the two fell to the ground as they fought. They kicked, clawed, bit, and scratched each other. Neither noticed when their father's came into the room, until they were pulled apart. And even then they screamed death threats at each other as Megatron slung his daughter over his shoulder and left the room._

_That was when Vortex met her best friend, Starfall, who was the Sparkling of Jazz and Prowl…_

Vortex's eyes snapped open, and once again she was reminded of her organic state. But Vortex froze, noticing something was different. Samantha was sitting across from her, talking softly to Zeenia. Vortex wasn't sure what they were talking about, but it sounded serious.

"You're absolutely sure this is what you heard," Zeenia asked, fixing Sam with a hard stare.

"Positive," Sam murmured, shaking her head, "I told Mabyn when she took a break at yelling at Megatron for being an idiot."

Zeenia chuckled, her hair back to gold, "That must have been quite the sight. I haven't spent much time with him, but he seemed intimidating."

Sam threw her head back and laughed, "Oh trust me, you have no idea."

Zeenia leaned forward, her hair turning a light green, "But seriously Sammy, what's going to happen? Do you have dates and times?"

Sam sighed, running her hand through her hair, "The Solstice Celebration is happening in about a week. The plan is for when the fireworks go off, they're going to target the governor."

Zeenia nodded, her hair turning red, "They're a bunch of morons. Any clue what will happen with the peace talks during that time?"

"The talks have been put off by the Council for the next six days," Sam smiled weakly, "Will's saying that because two of the party are parents who just realized their child is alive. That's making most of them worry that if they don't act all touchy feely and sympathetic, they're going to dig up the past."

Zeenia snorted, and Vortex realized it wasn't very kind.

"Do they seriously think they can cover up their crimes?" Zernia hissed, "That hiding it from a group of aliens will make their crimes go away?"

"They're probably going to try to charge us with murder or war crimes," Sam said, and the two both rolled their eyes, "Look, they might target Vortex."

"Why?"

"If they have her, they have a whole race of giant alien robots helping them reclaim the planet," Sam answered, "Honestly, you'd think they'd be over the revolution by now."

Zeenia just shook her head, "They're idiots, each and every one. But here's my question Sam, why are you in here?"

"I was worried about Vortex…"

"Bullshit," Zeenia leaned forward, "I remember what you did back during the massacre. You hit a communicator and it turned into one of those robots. Remember that? Remember it attacking the guards, and then them destroying it? I do. Along with the magical blue lightning."

"Allspark energy," Sam automatically corrected before running a hand through her hair, "It's…you remember the thing I told you? About reincarnation?"

"Sam, you went into space to find them," Zeenia snapped, leaning forward, "And now that you found them, you're hiding from them! Especially that yellow one!"

"I died multiple times on him Zee!" Sam yelled, jumping to her feet as she began to pace back and forth, "He doesn't deserve for me to come back, make him excited, and then die in another few decades!"

Zeenia stood up, eyes flashing angrily, "Samantha! Just tell him!"

"No!"

"It's so easy Sam! Just tell him you remember! What's keeping you from having this friendship for a few short years?"

"I love him, alright!"

There was a stunned silence before Sam continued.

"I'm madly in love with a giant alien robot," Sam whispered, tears welling up in her eyes, "I've been in love with him since 2007, and it hasn't gotten any better. Just thinking about hurting him makes me sick to my stomach."

There was a pause, and Vortex allowed herself to turn her head so she could observe them. Zeenia had pulled Sam in for a hug, and the two stood there embracing each other. Vortex couldn't help but smile softly at the two of them. Sitting up, she made sure to frown before clearing her throat.

Zeenia jumped away from Sam, eyes wide, "Vortex! How long were you awake?"

"I just exited recharge," Vortex lied smoothly while arching an eyebrow, "Can I remove these wires from my person, or do you need more tests?"

Zeenia waved her hand flippantly, "Oh, you're good to go precious. Go find you're creators and tell them I want a meeting with them and you first thing in the morning. Got it? Good. Now get out of here!"

Vortex calmly left the room, walking through the hallways of the mansion. She was able to find the door that led to her creator's resting chamber rather easily, she just listened for the arguing.

Opening the door she stepped in.

Starscream whirled around face furious, "Can't you see we're busy here?"

"Forgive me mother," Vortex inclined her head, hiding her smirk.

The next thing the girl knew, she was in her mother's arms. "Forgive me Sparklet, but you're father is an aft," Starscream murmured in her ear.

Vortex sent him a quick smile before turning to Megatron, "Father, I found out some information you could use."

Megatron raised an eyebrow, "What information Vortex?"

Vortex stepped forward. Taking a deep breath she softly announced, "In regards to Lieutenant Samantha Witwicky. Or should I say, Lieutenant Samuel Witwicky."

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	14. Homecoming Arc: IV

**Dear lord this is a long arc! And there's more to go! **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**Homecoming IV**

Sam stared out over the fields of Tarsus IV. The sun was just rising, and she had escaped the mansion so she wouldn't have to deal with anyone today. Will was furious with her disappearing act, and Sam knew Optimus was disappointed. But Sam didn't care. She recognized Bumblebee's holoform and had seen it last night.

So Sam sat on the fallen tree, watching the suns light the sky above her with deep blues and violets. It was one of the most beautiful sights in the universe, to watch the stars disappear and the suns came out.

"I almost missed this," Sam whispered to the still morning air.

"Missed what?"

Sam let out a very unmanly scream and turned to see a man standing behind her. He looked Jamaican in descent, on the shorter side with a wide smile and long brown hair that peaked out over a sweat band. A green tank top with green sandals offset the khaki pants. But the circular sun glasses did nothing to hide his electric blue eyes.

"Hi," Sam offered, recognizing him as an Autobot, "I'm Lieutenant Sam Witwicky."

The man smiled at her, "Jazz."

Holy crap. It was Jazz. How long had it been since she'd seen him? A couple centuries?

"What are you doing out here?" Sam asked, fighting the urge to giver him a hug.

"I saw you leaving the mansion and decided to follow you," Jazz explained, "Didn't expect you to watch the sun rise."

"Suns," Sam clarified, before a genius idea over took her, "Hey, you want to seem something really cool?"

"Sure, why not," Jazz said with a shrug, coming over and taking a seat next to Sam on the log.

Sam pointed at the horizon, "When the second sun comes up, it creates a build up of electricity in the atmosphere. Mostly because of the ion field. But if you're patient, you'll see a green flash of light."

Jazz shook his head, "No way."

"Seriously," Sam explained, "Look, it's happening now!"

Jazz turned his head back to where she was pointing and gasped. The second sun peaked over the horizon, and where the two rays met a flash of green light exploded out. The entire country side was bathed in the greenish light before it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"Beats Terran sunrises any day," Sam bragged happily while giving Jazz a thumbs up, "It's the only thing I miss about this place."

Jazz gave her a searching look, "That's right, you used to liver here. Why did you leave?"

Sam looked down, "The famine changed everything. The civil war made it worse. After that, there was nothing left for me to stay for on Tarsus IV."

Jazz smiled sadly, "That happens a lot during civil wars. I nearly didn't return to my home world after the civil war there."

Sam offered him her own smile, "Looks like we have something in common."

They sat in silence, just watching the light spread before Jazz broke it.

"I noticed something in the East," Jazz told Sam, "Do you know what it is?"

Sam just stared at the suns before standing slowly, "I have to show it to you. It's not something I can describe."

"Lead and I'll follow," Jazz told her.

And together they set off through the fields of wheat, Sam leading him through a minor pathway. They traveled for a good half hour before Sam stopped and looked back at him.

"It's not pretty," Sam warned, before stepping to the side. And as Jazz stepped forward, his eyes fell on the sight.

A square sat before them. But the paint that made up the sun and the stars on it was faded. Splatches of a rusty red colored the square. Houses sat around the square, or what used to be houses. Now they were burnt out shells. Jazz noticed a hill sitting directly across from his line of sight. As he stared at it, he noticed the burned remains of a mansion on the top.

"The true Tarsus IV," Sam told him, breaking the silence and stepping into the square. Ashes fluttered into the air as her feet disturbed them, "They try to hide this behind their new village, and with their new mansion. But it's still here. Just because they covered up the paint doesn't mean that the blood didn't soak into the ground. This dirt was mud when I was ten because of the dead. That mansion was once our pride and joy."

Sam laughed harshly, "But we burned it to dust, all because Kodos thought we were disposable."

She turned and stared into Jazz's stunned eyes, "I remember this square. It was here when a guard pointed a rifle in my face and pulled the trigger. J.T. is the only reason I survived. And they want me to forget."

They stood in silence once again. Jazz stared at her with unreadable eyes, and Sam stared across the village on the verge of tears. It wasn't until Jazz wrapped her in a hug that Sam cried. She cried for the dead, for the living, and for those she wasn't sure fit in either category. She cried tears from thirteen years ago, and Jazz bore it all with patience.

When she finished, Sam offered him a shaky smiled, "Thanks Jazz. I needed that."

Jazz smiled softly before ruffling her hair, "I know kid. That's why I let you cry."

Sam laughed lightly, "I can see why Prowl Bonded with you."

Then she froze, eyes widening at her slip. Taking a step back, Sam stared into Jazz's stunned optics.

"How did you know that?" he demanded, taking a step forward.

Sam shrugged weakly, "He told me when we met?"

Jazz's eyes narrowed, "When in Primus's name did you meet Prowl?"

Sam flinched at his harsh tone, but Jazz was too concerned to care about upsetting her.

"We met…a month after he landed," Sam whispered, staring at the ashes drifting through the air, "Bee was taking me and Mikeala to meet the newest arrivals."

"How did you meet Bee?" Jazz's voice was harsh, "You were never introduced to him."

"When I was seventeen, my dad and I made a deal," Sam admitted softly, "Get three A's, and raise two thousand dollars. I did it, and he decided to get me a car. We went to this used car dealership and I found this awesome Camero. We bought it that day.

"I realized something was wrong with it when it stole itself. I thought it was Satan's Camero and freaked out," Sam shrugged, "Turned out to be a giant alien in disguise who wanted my great grandfather's glasses that I was selling on E-Bay. Things got complicated after that. Met the Autbots, was arrested by Sector Seven, found the Cube, killed Megatron. Then Optimus died, then I died, then I brought him back, helped save the world from the Decepticon invasion in Chicago, became the official liaison between you guys and the U.N. And during that, I met Prowl. And the others."

Jazz's mouth was hanging open. His eyes started to mist up as he whispered, "Sam?"

Sam smiled weakly, offering him a shrug, "That's me. Nice to see you alive again Jazz."

"But…you died," Jazz whispered, a hand reaching out for her. The human he had mourned for how many Earth years was standing in front of him, "We saw your body after the car crash. How are you back?"

"Beats me," Sam told him, "I just remember the Prime's told me I was needed again and that I would unite our races. Jazz, you alright?"

"No," Jazz admitted, a huge grin breaking across his face, "I'm not alright."

And then Sam found herself pressed against Jazz in one of the tightest hugs she'd ever received. After a moments hesitation, Sam gave Jazz an equally fierce hug. They sunk to the ground in a flurry of ashes and laughter.

Jazz grabbed Sam's cheeks and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I missed you kid. We all did."

"I missed you guys too," Sam whispered back, offering Jazz a watery smile, "God it's good to see you again."

The two continued to talk to each other, unaware of the person watching them from the wheat fields.

Page break

"You're sure?" Megatron demanded of Soundwave, "This is the boy?"

"Affirmative," Soundwave inclined his head, "The human female revealed herself to be Samuel Witwicky."

"That's not possible," Skywarp whispered to Starscream. Seeing the look on his trine mate's face he quickly asked, "Is it possible?"

Starscream snorted, "We didn't think it was possible for a mech to be placed in an organic body, but it happened to Vortex."

Megatron scowled, eyes serious, "Soundwave, keep tabs on that girl. She may be the fleshling, but she's still a potential danger, especially to Vortex."

Soundwave bowed, "Yes Lord Megatron."

Meagtron watched as Soundwave left. Skywarp was quickly shooed out of the room by Starscream, although he did complain loudly. With an annoyed huff, Starscream turned to regard his mate.

"What's troubling you?" Starscream asked, stepping closer to him.

"The boy returning is no problem," Meagtron told him, pulling his mate close, "The problem is how Vortex will take the situation. I have already observed her acting rather coldly to everyone she encounters."

"Her parental Bonds were broken prematurely," Starscream reminded him, "The doctor mentioned her hostile actions are probably because of that."

Megatron sighed, resting his chin on the top of Starscream's head, "Should we tell her about this?"

"She is spending most of her time with the Lieutenant," Starscream admitted.

"Are daughter associating with an organic?"

"As long as she is interacting with other, I really don't care," Starscream pressed closer to Megatron, "And you shouldn't care either. Our main priority is that her mental health is optimal."

Megatron smirked, "I'll take your word for it. Mother does know best."

"Megatron."

"Yes dear?"

"Shut up."

Page break

Will frowned, looking around the conference room, "Commander?"

Epps looked up, "Yes Captain?"

"Where's my Lieutenant?"

Epps frowned, rocking back on his heels, "Ya know, I have no idea. This is the second day Sam's disappeared on us. It's not like her."

Will ran a hand through his hair, nodding at the Autobots who entered the room.

"I'm worried about her Epps," Will admitted, ignoring their audience, "Usually Sam tells me where she's going, but she just took off this morning."

"Samantha is missing?" Optimus asked.

Will turned, his eyes narrowing as he noticed Bumblebee's disappointed face. He would have to watch this one carefully, "Sam left this morning, and we're not sure where she went."

"Is that all?" Ironhide demanded with a huff, "She's out exploring with Jazz."

Epps paled, "Oh shit, he's going to die?"

"Excuse me?" Ironhide demanded.

Epps just pointed at Will, whose expression was irate.

"If there's anything wrong with her," Will snarled, "I'm going to kill him, even if he's an alien robot."

Page break

After a while, Sam had dragged Jazz to his feet and led him through the forest. After another half hour they came to a massive cliff face which had a cave cut into the side. Sam pushed Jazz in, and the two were currently lying on the floor of the cave, starring at its ceiling.

"So, you hid out here for two years?" Jazz asked Sam.

Sam nodded, hands behind her head, "It was hidden and easily defendable. The perfect situation for us. No one knew where it was, and we never showed the rescue teams either. It was…home."

Jazz snorted, "It's a crappy home. No offense."

"None taken," Sam shrugged. She felt like she was eleven again, whispering with J.T. about the mysteries of the universe while their world fell apart, "It used to be a lot cooler. Over there, we had a communication center. I'd hack in to the governor's channel, and from that we learned what he was planning and how to work around it. Zeenia had a cot over there, and that's where the sick and the wounded went. Our beds were in that area."

"It sounds…nice," Jazz finally admitted, offering her a weak smile, "Where was the kitchen?"

Sam turned and raised an eyebrow, "Jazz, we had a civil war because there was a famine and not enough food to go around. We didn't have a kitchen, we stole the food."

Jazz flinched, "I'm sorry Sam. I didn't realize…"

"I don't care anymore Jazz," Sam admitted, eyes turning back to the ceiling, "It's been years, you know? I've moved on. I have a great job in Starfleet, I have some of the greatest friends in the universe, and I got a new family after the massacre. It turned out pretty good for me."

Jazz frowned, fixing her with a harsh look, "Sam, there's something that's been bugging me. Why are you avoiding the others?"

Sam frowned, eyes distant, "This is going to sound really…stupid. But you have to remember, I was ten Jazz. I remembered everything when a soldier pointed a phaser rifle in my face, and J.T. was the only reason I wasn't shot.

"After that, I remembered you guys. I remembered I had a guardian, that Optimus said he'd protect me. And then, all of a sudden, they weren't there. I promised Baby you guys would save us, but you never came. I told J.T. you would come from the stars, but it never happened. So when Starfleet came and took us away, I was angry."

Sam laughed darkly, her eyes misting with tears, "I was so angry Jazz. I wanted someone to blame for why everything bad happened. So I blamed Kodos, I blamed Starfleet, I blamed the Council, and I ended up blaming you guys. We all blamed someone. Ocean was so angry with her family she never returned to her home world.

"It took me years to get over it. I've done a lot of things I regret Jazz, and hopefully none of it will come out. Starfleet gave me a second chance, one I'm not going to waste it with anger from a scared ten year old who wants to know why you never came to save her."

Sam turned and offered Jazz a weak grin, "And that's why I'm avoiding them. Especially Bumblebee and Optimus."

Jazz gave Sam a hard look, before reaching over and ruffling her hair, "Its fine kid. Trust me, I understand better than anyone how surviving a war…can change your opinion of things. And sometimes you need someone to blame. Everything will be fine Sam."

Jazz pulled her into a hug, and Sam pressed herself as close as she could. She wasn't an idiot, she knew Jazz was only doing this as a friend.

"You know," Sam muttered into his chest, "Epps told me back in 2013 that you should be my sassy gay friend. I think he was right."

"Damn straight…wait," Jazz pushed her away, "He said I was what?"

"My sassy gay friend," Sam giggled gleefully, pushing away and jumping to her feet. She raced out of the cave, cackling madly.

"SAMANTHA WITWICKY!" Jazz yelled chasing after her, "You get back here and explain what that means! Do you understand me?"

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	15. Homecoming Arc: V

**A few things to be aware of. Number one, we hate Sam's parents in this universe. They're jerks and shouldn't have kids. Number two, Vortex is like an adorable little kid. Who can kill you easily. And three, Mabyn is a boss. Hands down. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**Homecoming V**

Zeenia glared out at the pair of idiots in front of her.

She had met with Vortex and her parents earlier that day, and had set up a temporary Bond between the three of them. It had been…exhausting. Zeenia had left the happy, or at least she thought they were happy, family alone and gone out for a walk.

It had been years since she stood on Tarsus IV, and Zeenia was not exactly happy to be back, but the fact that there was life on this planet made it more bearable. But when she reached the woods, Zeenia froze and stared in shock at the sight before her.

Reaching into her bag, Zeenia pulled out her communicator and pressed the button, "Commander Epps, pick up. I found our missing Lieutenant."

She raised an eyebrow as Epps had to yell to be heard over the background noise, "That's great! Where is she, I'll come pick her up!"

"Don't bother," Zeenia snapped, "I'll handle these morons myself."

Zeenia snapped it closed before Epps could reply. Then Zeenia allowed her eyes to return to the two geniuses in front of her.

Sam and Jazz were laughing manically as they played in the field in front of her. They were playing a weird version of tag, which involved grappling moves and fighting with each other. And it also involved mud, lots and lots of mud. Whenever the person who was it started to catch up to their prey, they dipped their hand into the mud and smeared in on the other person.

The end result was Sam and Jazz were coated in mud. And it was Tartian mud on top of it, some of the hardest mud to remove. The mud usually ended up mixing with the sap of trees from the forest, making it cement like when it dried.

And they were coated in it.

Zeenia snarled and stalked forward, "What are you two doing?"

And she realized yelling at two well trained soldiers was a terrible idea. Because Sam's first reaction was to pick up a handful of mud and chuck it at her face.

It connected. Of course it did, she was a soldier who had survived untold horrors. No duh she could throw.

Zeenia stood there, hands raised to her face as mud dripped down it. Golden eyes were wide with shock, before they narrowed as her hair turned red from anger.

"Oh shit," Jazz muttered.

Zeenia stalked forward, glaring at them, "What on Earth were you two idiots doing in the mud?"

Sam shrugged weakly, face coated in the vile muck, "We were playing tag. Is that a crime now?"

"Yes," Zeenia announced, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "I have just passed a law making fun illegal."

Jazz scowled, "On whose authority?"

Zeenia glared at him, "By the authority of I'm-a-medic-and-can-kill-you-and-not-be-caught."

"Oh," Jazz whispered, eyes wide, "That authority."

"Now, both of you morons are going to come with me and get cleaned up," Zeenia snapped, turning on her heel and heading back towards the mansion. Jazz and Sam quickly fell in line, pushing each other as Zeenia continued to lecture. The doctor knew what the two were doing, don't get her wrong. But she had also taken care of many children, and knew some battles weren't worth fighting.

"Honestly," Zeenia grumbled as they entered the mansion, "Two adults, one who is a giant alien robot who has lived for centuries, and they sneak out of work to go play in mud! Idiots, the both of you!"

Neither was able to respond because at that moment, Vortex walked into the room. Her bright red eyes were trained on a data pad but she did look up when hearing the door slam closed.

A thin eyebrow rose as she turned to the three, "What are you covered in?'

"Mud!" Jazz and Sam happily chimed, giving her matching beaming smiles.

"Mud," Vortex repeated, taking a step back in the direction she came from, "It seems…"

"Wonderful doesn't it?" Jazz gushed, "It just makes such a huge mess. ….Wonder how Prowler would deal with it if I got mud in his desk…"

Sam watched as Vortex dropped her data pad and ran from the room, "I think you scared her Jazz."

Zeenia fixed them both with stony stares, "Why aren't you two morons heading to the showers? No, just move!"

Sam waved goodbye to Jazz as she followed Zeenia down the hallway. Sam nodded when appropriate during the lecture and said sorry more times than she had in the last three years.

Eventually she managed to get back in her quarters and quickly showered off the muck, and by quickly that meant about an hour to wash off all the mud.

Sam exited her shower, and stared at her closet while Zeenia commandeered the shower.

"Hey Zee," Sam hollered back to her friend, "Where are my clothes?"

Zeenia's voice drifted to her, "Mabyn ordered them cleaned or something. She replaced your clothes though."

"Yeah, with traditional clothing," Sam snapped, picking up the dress and glaring at it, "I have to wear a dress Zeenia. A pink dress with flowers on it. This sucks."

Zeenia cackled, "Then maybe you shouldn't have played in mud!"

"…You suck."

Sam quickly pulled on the dress, glaring at the full skirt. Zeenia exited the bathroom, smiling happily in her outfit. Sam raised an eyebrow at the traditional Beldan garments, but didn't comment.

"Come on Sammy," Zeenia announced, taking Sam's arm in hers and leaving the room, "Apparently we're getting some sort of tour of the mansion with the Cybertronains. It's going to be so much fun!"

Sam rolled her eyes but let Zeenia drag her into the hallway. Both women froze, eyes landing on the furious pair in front of them. Mabyn and Vortex stood there, in traditional garments from their planets. Or in Vortex's case, traditional Enochian clothing.

"I see it happened to you also," Mabyn spat, arms crossed over her chest, "What ever idiot put us in these clothes is going to die."

"I agree," Vortex hissed, "This outfit is degrading."

Sam smiled wickedly, "Don't worry. I plan to bitch about these heels until someone gets me a pair of pants."

Vortex grinned maliciously, and Sam wasn't sure which parent she learned that from.

'This will be rather fun," Vortex snarled.

Mabyn led the way down the hallway. Four, actually three Zeenia didn't count because she like this, furious women were going to make the lives of the males a living hell.

Page break

Epps wasn't used to Tarsus IV. It was painfully cheerful, to the point where it was obvious the people were hiding something. Epps wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it was more than the massacre, which was now common knowledge.

But when all the civilians avoided them, it became obvious something was up. Aparently the Autobots thought so also.

"Why are the humans so cheerful?" Bumblebee asked.

Without thinking, Epps responded just like he would if Sam asked him the question, "Because a unicorn just appeared in the fields. Then it made rainbows and sunshine."

The Autobots stared at him in confusion, while Will groaned.

"Ignore him," Will quickly said, "He's just mad because he hasn't been plotting with Sam. What are you two planning any ways?"

"I can't tell you," Epps grumbled, crossing his arms and glaring at his captain, "But it involves a whole ton of maple syrup."

Bumblebee turned to Ironhide, :He is remarkably similar to them. Is Samantha like this?:

:No,: Ironhide sent back, :She's…angrier than Samuel ever was. I assume it has to do with her time on this planet.:

:Ironhide, Bumblebee,: both winced at the sound of reproach in Optimus's voice, :It is impolite to communicate over the comm. link while others are present.:

Both sent him apologies before rejoining the conversation. Nothing much was happening, they were simply waiting for the females and Jazz to join them.

"The Decepticons decided not to come?" Will asked, taking a seat and leaning against a potted plant.

"Starscream and Skywarp are contacting the last member of their trine," Optimus told him, "Thundercracker did not know Vortex has been found. Megatron and Soundwave are discussing something and did not wish to be disturbed."

Epps grinned wickedly, "Bet they're planning something with maple syrup also."

"Who has maple syrup?"

The group turned to see Jazz coming up to them, a beaming grin on his face. Bumblebee sent a happy chirp of greeting while Jazz took a seat on the banister next to Ironhide.

"It is good to see you," Optimus greeted him, "Where did you go?"

"Talking to Sammy about this planet," Jazz shrugged, "We played tag for a while, but then Doctor Lirrel made us clean up."

Ironhide raised an eyebrow, "Why did you need to clean up?"

"We played in mud," Jazz said with a smug smirk.

Will glared, "You played with my female Lieutenant in mud? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Jazz quickly defended. Then his eyes narrowed and turned to Epps, "Speaking of Sam, what's this about me being her sassy gay friend?"

Will turned and kicked Epps, hard.

"Seriously? That's what you say," Will snapped, going straight into captain lecture mode, "That could be taken as homophobic Epps! We don't need you getting yourself tossed out because of a stupid joke!"

"Its fine man," Epps said waving his hand. He was painfully aware of the Autobots watching them, "Sam's like…crazy liberal right? So if she finds it funny, then it can't be bad."

"That is the worst logic I have ever heard," Ironhide told him, "That's what you base things off of?"

"I think it's brilliant," Jazz said, quickly defending Sam.

"That's cause you're her sassy gay friend," Bumblebee told him, yelping when Jazz swung at him.

Optimus let out a long suffering sigh, "Commander Epps, look at what you have started."

"Yeah Epps," Will chimed in, "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"What did he do know?" Sam's voice called out to them.

Turning, all the males froze. The four females stood there, each one dressed in rather strange outfits.

Sam's showed the least amount of skin. A long sleeved low cut floor length light pink dress decorated with flowers on the corset. She did not look happy. Vortex wore a pure white tunic that hung to her knees with golden trim and golden sandals.

Zeenia's was rather low cut, a bikini top in orange with see through fabric hanging off of it with flowing shorts that ended at her knees. But Mabyn's was the strangest. A black tank top, with a black skirt that hung to her knees and combat boots. All were plated with silver metal, in what appeared to be armor.

"Sam," Epps began, "When did you get hot?"

Will spun around and punched his second command in the arm as hard as he could. Furious brown eyes regarded the Autobots.

"One word, and I make your lives a living hell," Will snarled, "She's not legal on Vulcan, so she's not legal any where else as far as I'm concerned!"

"With that reasoning she won't be legal until she's at least eighty," Epps whispered to Ironhide who snorted.

Mabyn stepped forward, eyes narrowed with rage, "Gentlemen, I apologize for the delay. It seems that all our clothes have been replaced with…these things."

"It's degrading," Vortex growled, stomping up to Optimus and glaring. The mech just chuckled lightly and ruffled her hair. Vortex glared at the ground pouting.

Zeenia happily skipped over to them, and Epps was grinning like a maniac when she came to a stop in front of him.

"I think it's wonderful!" Zeenia gushed, hair bright pink, "I never get to wear Beldan clothing on Earth! They say its inappropriate!"

"Wonder why?" Bumblebee muttered. His eyes were trained on Sam though. She felt similar to his boy, but she held herself differently. She moved less like Sam and more like…Jazz, or even Starscream. The movements of a fighter.

Sam just sighed, crossing her eyes over her chest, "Can we just get this tour over with? I want to go find some pants."

Will just ruffled her hair, before walking down the pathway, "Not wearing pants is your punishment for the rest of the day for disappearing. Deal with it."

Sam glared, but followed after her captain. Mabyn had started the tour of her planet, which meant she was showing off the training grounds for the guards and the village.

The village was the first thing Mabyn showed them. To Sam, it was hell. Watching as her past and present clashed and met. The village was made similarly to the old Tarsus IV, with houses created around the square. The houses were in greens and browns, with thatch roofs. The square was painted in reds and browns, and the reds reminded Sam of blood.

She turned as Jazz fell into step next to her. Sam offered him a smile, watching the other follow Mabyn.

"You don't want to go with them?" Sam asked, pointing to where Ironhide was being forced to talk to a group of children while everyone else watched, "The governor has this wonderful tour all planned out for you. And every other dignitary and Starfleet officer who passes through for more than a day."

"And that's why I'm talking to you," Jazz admitted, rolling his eyes, "I hate these planned tours. And you're already fulfilling your punishment, so how much worse can it get?"

"You've never faced Will's punishments when he's rather angry," Sam chuckled, shaking her head as she started off across the square in the opposite direction from the main group, "So, what do you want to know first about this hell hole?"

She could tell Jazz was disturbed that she said it with such a happy tone, but it was a coping mechanism. If she acted happy enough, maybe the memories wouldn't hurt so much.

"Well," Jazz drawled, eyes landing on a group of people dressed in brown and green tunics holding arm full of wheat, "Why is everyone here so concerned about wheat production? And don't just blame it on the famine, there has to be more to it than that."

"Tarsus is the Federation's largest wheat export," Sam explained, eyes distant, "That was…part of the problem with the famine. Kodos sent so much wheat out to the market at the beginning of the famine, none was left for us. That's changed now, the governor waits until the wheat is put away for the winter before sending any out."

Jazz nodded, before pointing at a group of children who were playing with a set of sticks and hoops, "And what are they doing?"

"It a game," Sam explained, ignoring the no duh look Jazz gave her as they walked past the group of kids, "You knock the hoops with the sticks to keep it moving. The person who keeps it rolling the longest wins."

Sam sent him a smug look after they passed the kids, "That's the legitimate game. But in reality, we'd lose the hoops and use the sticks as swords."

Jazz snorted at that, 'Some interesting stories from using sticks as swords Sam?"

"I broke my brother's nose with one," Sam admitted with a laugh, "We were thirteen and bored as hell. Doc and Ocean left us alone while Dad was on a mission. My brother, Lefty, and I were entertaining Baby cause J.T. was sick, and I hit him on the nose."

Jazz laughed wildly at that as they left the village behind and entered the fields. Sam couldn't help but point out the things she remembered from her home world as they passed them.

"This used to be a communication center," Sam said, pointing to one of the houses they passed, "I broke into here all the time, even before the war. Their security was pathetic, not to mention their firewalls."

Jazz snorted, shaking his head, "You are one messed up kid. You never would have done this on Earth."

Sam shook her head at that, "No, the problem was my parents didn't care what I did. I could do whatever I wanted here, and they just shook their heads and sighed but never said anything against it. Pretty soon I learned that I could do anything I wanted, and my…brother was the only one who cared. And even he stopped caring after a while when he met his fiancé."

Jazz frowned, "Your parents didn't care what you did?"

Sam shrugged as they walked from the fields to the training area, "Not really. They wanted a son, and they had one. I was an accident, and they made sure I knew it."

Jazz wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick hug, "It's going to be fine Sammy baby. I'm going to make sure that we take good care of you from now on."

Sam smiled at him as they entered the training grounds. The two shared stories as they weaved through the guards dressed in black, all of them standing at attention with phaser rifles ready to use. The two quickly noticed loud noises coming from a room in front of them.

"What's that room?" Jazz asked Sam as they got closer to the room.

"It's…there's no translation into Standard," Sam grumbled, "You go there to practice sparring. There isn't a firing range, so we can't call it that. Why not just call it the sparring range, you know?"

Jazz laughed at that, and then they both walked into the room, "Well, let's see what they're doing in there."

The two entered the room, and then froze at the sight before them. Neither was sure when, but it seemed like the Decepticons had joined the other group. They realized it because Mabyn was sparring with Megatron. And kicking his ass.

"She's impressive," Jazz whispered to her.

"It's not surprising," Sam told him, wincing as Mabyn connected a hit to Megatron's head, "She was a gladiator on Enfys before the Federation shut the whole thing down."

Jazz hummed thoughtfully, "A gladiator huh? A rather strange coincidence."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him, "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Jazz quickly told her, ruffling her hair, "There's nothing to worry about."

Sam nodded, and let her eyes wander over the Cybertronians. She had to admit, the new comers were rather strange. She let her eyes land on Skywarp first. His skin was nearly as dark as Jazz, but it had a more tanned look. His hair was silver like Starscream's but a chunk of his bangs were dark purple. Happy red eyes watched the match as he clung to Starscream and chattered happily to him.

Vortex stood next to Soundwave, both of them studying the match. Soundwave was different than Sam expected. He had based his holoform off of an African American, and his red eyes were hidden behind thick sunglasses. He had on a thick sweatshirt and wore baggy jeans, and there was a hint of stubble on his chin.

And finally, Sam let her eyes drift over to Bumblebee. He was exactly as she remembered. With wavy blond hair hanging over his bright blue eyes and Sam just wanted to run her hands through it. His skin was tan, and Sam wished she had been there while he was tanning so she could run her hands along his smooth skin…

"Sam, you're drooling," Will whispered into her ear, causing Sam to jump.

Spinning around with her hand on her heart, Sam glared at her captain, "Don't do that Will, you scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry," Will said, wrapping a hand around Sam's thin shoulders before fixing Jazz with a glare, "What were you doing with my Lieutenant all alone?"

"She was giving me a tour of her home world," Jazz quickly defended, hands up in the air, "I swear, we weren't doing anything!"

"You sound pretty defensive about that," Will snarled, causing Sam to roll her eyes.

"Will," Sam snapped, causing her captain to look at her, "One word will make it fine. Prowl."

Will paused, "Oh yeah, forgot about that."

Sam pushed Will off her with a good natured laugh. Jazz raised an eyebrow before regarding Will, "Does he…"

"Remember?" Will finished for him with a big smile on his face, "You bet I do."

"And Epps?"

"Yes Jazz," Will said, "Epps remembers also."

"Then why haven't you told the guys you remember us?" Jazz demanded softly, trying not to be overheard by the others, "Do you have any idea how happy that would make them?"

Will and Sam traded an uncomfortable look before Will tried to explain, "Look Jazz, we're probably going to be sent away again as soon as this is over. I have to answer to Starfleet, and if they say to go to this planet, then I have to go. Same goes for Sam and Epps. It wouldn't…be fair to you guys to finally meet with us again, and then we leave for years to come."

"Or die," Sam chimed in, rather unhelpfully, "That's always a possibility. Especially for me, cause I'm a red shirt."

Will glared at her, and Sam offered an apologetic shrug before turning back to the match in front of them. Mabyn had managed to win, and had Megatron's face pressed into the mats while holding his right arm straight back and keeping her foot on him other shoulder.

Will whistled, "That was fast. She's really impressive."

Sam smiled happily, "Yeah, that's why we…uh…the Resistance chose her as the governor."

Sam tried to ignore the searching looks Will and Jazz were giving her for that slip up as she watched Mabyn help Megatron back up to his feet. The blue skinned woman offered him a savage smile before clapping him on the shoulder. What really surprised Sam was when Megatron returned the gesture.

Vortex walked up to join Sam before commenting on the match, "She is a rather skilled fighter."

Sam nodded, crossing her arms as she watched Mabyn talk to the other Cybertronians, "She's been fighting for centuries. I think she's about four hundred years old, I lost track of the exact number a while ago. But she told me she's rather young for her species. About…twenty five human years."

Vortex raised an eyebrow, "That is surprising. She is very well skilled."

"Mabyn's a boss," Sam said, rather distractedly as she noticed Bumblebee heading towards them. Grabbing Vortex's wrist, she turned and left the room, "Come on, let's go find some better clothes."

And with that, Sam ran as fast as she could from the room with a protesting Vortex behind her. One day she would face him, but today wasn't the day.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	16. Homecoming Arc: VI

**This one is short for a reason. The big reveal is next chapter. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**Homecoming VI**

Vortex frowned as she was dragged from the room. She didn't understand Samantha's reason for avoiding the Autobots, but figured it was a human response and let it go at that. But the girl did seem to have a destination in mind when she ran through the streets of the village and entered the fields.

"Where are we going?" Vortex demanded as they ran through the fields, "You do have a destination in mind, don't you?"

"We're going to the beach," Sam told her, waving to the workers they passed in the fields. She quickly moved them to a smaller path that started to slope downwards. The sound of waves quickly reached them. Vortex noticed the fields died away in front of them, and in a matter of seconds they were standing on the beach.

The sand was green, which Vortex found very strange. Her Creators had told her of Earth's sand, which was a tan color. The waves were also strange.

"Your ocean is orange," Vortex announced, an eyebrow raised.

Sam offered her a smile as the human took a seat in the sand, "Don't go in it, that's for certain. I don't remember which one it is, but it's an acid. Found that out the hard way."

Vortex sat next to her, "Did you fall in it?"

There was a pause while Sam stared out over the ocean. Finally the human responded to her, "No. A close friend of mine, Ocean, was pulling a soldier off of Lefty. She pushed the soldier into the ocean, and he just…dissolved. Ocean slipped and fell, and her hands landed in the water. They didn't disintegrate, but they were badly burned. She still can't feel anything with them."

Vortex hummed, "You are…rather open about your experiences during the war."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Neither of my Creators speak of the War much," Vortex explained, shrugging helplessly, "All I know is what other told me. Some say they were heroes, others say they were villains. I am not sure which side to believe on the whole matter."

Sam nodded as she took in the suns glistening off of the orange waves, "There are no innocents in war. The Autobots did bad things, and so did the Decepticons. That's part of war. Technically, I'm a criminal because of what I did during the civil war here. But my side won, so I'm considered one of the good guys."

"You were Resistance?" Vortex asked, the continued after Sam's hesitant nod, "I thought so. The data pad I was reading mentioned all the leaders of the Resistance were children, and you mentioned you had fought. It was a logical conclusion."

Sam laughed at that, though it was a dark laugh, "Not many people want to think of children leading revolutions."

"I," Vortex snarled, "am not people."

Sam gave her a long searching look, "No, you're more than that. Alright, what do you want to know about the civil war?"

"Everything," Vortex sounded so sure of herself that Sam couldn't help but smile at her.

Neither was aware of the fact that Starfleet was listening into their conversation, to see if they were a security threat. Or that Ravage was directing the link from Starfleet to a room where the Cybertronian's were also listening in.

"Where to begin," Sam whispered to the air, eyes haunted, "And if you say from the beginning, I will punch you."

Sam gave her an affectionate shove before beginning, "It all started when I was ten…"

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	17. Homecoming Arc: VII

**WARNING: This chapter deals with a mass genocide. It is dark, and there is a ton of death. It's supposed to be like this. You can skip over it if you need to. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**Homecoming VII**

She was turning ten today.

Samantha was so excited, she was turning ten and she was going to get presents, just like all the other kids on Tarsus. It didn't matter that she had to eat once a day, or that there wouldn't be any food, just having her parents wish her a happy birthday was enough. That was why she was sitting patiently outside of her parent's office room, swinging her feet back and forth. Her mommy and daddy were talking with Jacob about her birthday surprise.

Samantha didn't mean to listen, but she could hear them through the wood.

"How can you say that Dad! She's my sister!"

"Jacob, you have to choose," her mommy sounded upset, "Kodos only promised us four people, and you're marrying Amanda. You have to choose!"

"Between my fiancé and my sister?" Jacob sounded furious, "What kind of choice is that!"

"Jacob," her daddy could make any room be silent, that's why he was one of Governor Kodos's counselors, "Think about it like this. She's a child, the famine will be hell on her body. There isn't a likely chance she'll survive it. Children are already dying off in the village. It would be a mercy to her."

"You're going to regret it," Jacob sounded so sad, Samantha wanted to make it better, "You're going to regret not knowing your daughter, and when you do, I'll be there."

"You're making the right choice son," what choice was her daddy talking about.

And with that, Jacob left the office. He froze when seeing her there, but then offered her a weak smile.

"Hey there Samantha," Jacob opened his arms and Sam ran in for a hug, "I have to get something from the village, can you come with me?"

"Alright," Samantha took his hand in her tiny one as they headed out from the room, "Are we going to get presents?"

Jacob laughed weakly as he took her from the compound. Sam noticed people were staring at her with sadness in their eyes. Why were they sad? She was turning ten!

"Yeah Samantha," Jacob told her as they entered the village, "We're getting you a present. Now, stay here, and this nice guard will watch you while I get it, alright?"

Samantha nodded, taking a seat on the ground. She watched as Jacob whispered something in the guards ear, before leaving. Samantha let her eyes run over the town square, noticing it looked different. The guards, dressed in their red and black uniforms, stood at every exit area with their phaser rifles. There was a stage at the opposite end of the square from her.

Sam gasped when governor Kodos took the stage and listened just like her daddy told her to, But she didn't understand what he was talking about. Who were these inferiors people he talked about? Why were they being called on to perform a special duty for the other colonists? And why did so many people look scared?

"I, Governor Kodos, hereby sentence you all to death for the good of the colony."

What?

This had to be a joke.

Sam watched with horror as the guards opened fire on the people within the square. The streets ran red with blood, and the screams of the people mixed with the smell of burning flesh.

Sam turned, to see the guard she had been placed near pointing his gun between her eyes.

"Sorry kid," the guard said, "This has to be done."

And then, everything came back to her. At that exact moment, she remembered everything. And she knew that when the guard finished pulling the trigger, she would be dead.

But it never happened, the guard screamed as a phaser shot got him in the back. Sam let her eyes fall to the boy, because he was only a boy, who shot the guard.

His light blond hair and bright blue eyes stood out in his dirty face. His eyes bore into Samantha's as he held out a blood stained hand.

"Come with me if you want to live," he told her, and the adult male in her laughed at the line while the ten year old little girl took his hand. Together they ran through the streets, jumping over dead bodies and dodging the guards. Eventually they find their way out of the town, and their racing across the wheat fields.

What was once lush fields of shimmering wheat is now barren stalks. They run through the dead field, the wheat crunching under their feet. Eventually they reach the forest and run through that. The boy stopped by a fallen log and sat Samantha near it.

"I'll be right back," he tells her, "Just stay here."

If you asked her later on in life, Samantha would say that she stayed because she trusted him, and that she knew her parents didn't want her back. But that's a lie. Samantha stayed because she couldn't think of what to do. Her eyes were filled to the brim with images of the dead, and her brain was bursting with memories from a past life.

Samantha had no idea how much time passed, but the boy showed back up. He wasn't alone.

A Vulcan girl, coated in blood, is carrying a Beldan who's unconscious. The boy has another boy in his arms, and that boy's hand is covering his right eye. Blood is seeping from his fingers. And there's a little boy, not any older than six, clutching the first boy's shirt and crying softly.

Samantha acted on instinct, gathering the child into her arms and following the boy. They wandered through the woods, until they reached a large cave. The boy might have said something, but Samantha wasn't sure any more. She just followed him into the cave.

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It was two weeks before any of them introduced themselves. The Beldan was still unconscious in a corner of the cave, but everyone else had been awake. They simply didn't talk. Samantha was the one to break the silence.

"This is stupid," Samantha announced that morning, crossing her thin arms over her chest. The other kids turned to her, even the boy with the bandage on his eye. Samantha was glaring at the blue eyed boy.

He glared right back at her, "Well if it's so stupid, why did you follow me? Didn't your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?"

Samantha though about it for a while before sticking her hand out, "Hi. My name's Samantha Witwicky."

The boy stared at her before taking her hand, "James Kirk."

"Well now we're not strangers anymore," Samantha told him with a big grin, "So I can follow you!"

The Vulcan girl raised an eyebrow, "That is illogical. You can follow James without having to introduce yourself to him."

Samantha never thought of it that way.

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They made nicknames the next day. Mostly because the youngest there couldn't pronounce the Vulcan's name.

James was called J.T. He was their unofficial leader. The Vulcan girl, named T'Maire, was called Ocean. The boy missing an eye was named Tom, and he was called Lefty. The youngest was Kevin, who they called Baby. They didn't know the Beldan's name, but called her Rainbow, because her short hair changed color as she slept. And they named Samantha Quirk.

They weren't fighting back. Oh no, they were all too scared for that. Instead they stole food and tried to survive. It was usually Quirk, J.T., and Ocean who would go out and search for food, and they never ran into any problems. Until one night.

They had been caught by the guards stealing food. It was the warehouse, the one place on the planet with the strongest security. No one ever figured out how three children broke in there, and they never told.

But when the guards caught them, J.T. fought back. He got a knife away from one of the guards and killed three of them. Ocean managed to break free and killed another two. Quirk, she didn't kill any of them. Instead she started working on the control panel to the door.

By the time J.T. and Ocean killed the other two, Quirk had the door open.

The three of them ran back to the cave, making sure to lose all of the guards as they snuck through the forest. Once they entered the cave, J.T. turned to Quirk.

"How did you know to do that?" J.T. asked, eyes wide as he studied her.

Quirk shrugged, staring at the floor, "It just…came to me. I understand machines, you know?"

After that they called her Gizmo.

They used her on every locked door they came across, with Gizmo breaking them in, and erasing all footage of them. J.T. could do it also, but Gizmo did it faster and had a better knack at it.

Things started to look up for them. They stole enough food to last a month, Baby finally quit crying for his parents, and even Ocean was starting to smile. Then Lefty got sick.

He had an infection in his eye from the bullet hole. His temperature rose to abnormal heights, and nothing they did was helping. It was then the Beldan woke up.

She took control of the situation immediately, sending Gizmo out to gather a bunch of herbs in the woods. She sent J.T. out for fresh water. Then the Beldan made a paste from the herbs that she used on Lefty's eyes. They weren't sure what she did, but Lefty's fever went down and eventually he got better.

Her name was Zeenia, and they called her Doc.

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Gizmo was eleven when the Resistance started. They had been found in the woods by the guards and captured. They killed ten, but still got dragged to the governor's mansion. They were locked in the dungeon and for the next month were tortured and interrogated.

Kodos thought they were working for another group or something. He demanded they give him the names, but they never did. They couldn't because this group didn't exist.

There were only nine people who saw Kodos from the four thousand he ordered dead. They were six of them.

One day they escaped. They planned to meet back by the cave. Gizmo and J.T. took off running down the halls, eyes wide as they waited for the guards to appear. But none did. They had taken a wrong turn and were heading to the council room.

They burst into the room, and froze as the eyes of the counselors landed on them. A counselor with graying hair stood, his brown eyes wide.

"Samantha?" he asked, taking a step forward, "Precious, is that you?"

Who was Samantha? Gizmo didn't know anyone by that name. She took a step away from the man, clutching J.T.'s arm with wide eyes. They started to sneak back out the door. The man was talking to them, promising them safety. But adults lied. They lied about the famine being over, they lied about being safe, and they lied about food.

So J.T. and Gizmo ran, while the scary man yelled for the guards.

One guard shot J.T. in the back. He dropped down, and Gizmo went back to help him.

Pained blue eyes bore into her soul.

"You have to run Sam," he hissed, taking her arm in his hand, "You're a soldier now, you have to get away and help the others."

Gizmo, no Sam, reared back like she'd been slapped. The words "you're a soldier now" echoed in her head, in two different voices. Soldiers…they protected people. Not like the guards who hurt J.T. So Gizmo grabbed a phaser rifle and staring blasting away.

Every guard who crossed her path died that night. She ran into the counselor again, and grabbed a knife and cut his face to get away. He was her father.

She escaped with J.T. and got back to the cave. Doc took J.T. and saved his life, while Gizmo curled up into a corner and cried. Cried for the loss of her innocence that night.

It was the last time she cried on Tarsus IV. The next day, her name changed to Soldier.

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The Resistance started the day Soldier was born. She was their weapons maker, their tech person. She hacked into places, got the group in, and killed anyone who got in their way. She was their special ops unit, using a pair of serrated knives to kill her opponents, just one twelve year old girl.

J.T. was their leader. He knew how to keep them alive, knew how to plan and strategize. His knowledge kept them going, even if he was only twelve and the oldest in their group, Ocean, was sixteen.

Ocean was originally their assassin. Being three times stronger than humans came in handy. But when she fell into the ocean saving Lefty, her hands were so badly burned she couldn't use them. After that she stayed behind and watched over Baby.

Lefty helped them when he could, but his eye still had an infection because they never had enough to eat and he couldn't heal properly. Baby stayed behind and looked after him. Out of all of them, Baby was the best fed. Everyone gave him about half of their food.

After Ocean's injury, Doc traded jobs with her. Doc stole medicine for them, which basically amounted to alcohol and poisons. She used the poisons to kill people. She became their new assassin.

For the next two years, they waged a guerilla war. When the guards entered the wheat fields looking for them, they burned it. It killed a good chunk of them. They burned buildings to keep anyone from catching them. They never told anyone how they did it, but Soldier, Lefty, and J.T. managed to burn the governor's mansion to the ground.

They stole, looted, and murdered. They became incredible fighters, able to fight in urban and rural areas. But no one ever followed them into the forest. It was suicide. They may be kids, but they could kill anyone who entered those woods in about ten seconds and not be seen.

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Soldier was twelve when Starfleet arrived. They were holed up in the cave, all curled together in a ball because of the cold winter air.

They were too tired to notice when the man in Starfleet gold walked into the room. They just stared at him as he called for help, and let him beam them back into his ship.

He took care of them, never leaving their sides. The man kept them in his room and pretty soon they recovered thanks to his care. He didn't push them to say anything they had seen, didn't force them to eat when they weren't hungry beyond what was needed to survive. And he also didn't tell them whose parents were dead, which was the best part.

His name was Christopher Pike, and he adopted the six of them. He was the one to gently take Soldier aside before they landed on Earth and explain to her that she didn't have to be a soldier anymore, she could go back to being Samantha.

But she didn't want to be Samantha. When she was Samantha, her parents got rid of her, her brother chose his fiancé over her, and they sent her to be executed with everyone else.

Soldier died at thirteen as Q was born. Q left home at seventeen, and went to the Velvet Room in Chicago. She got in a lot of trouble there. At nineteen Starfleet arrested her for hacking into a classified file. They gave her a choice, got to a prison colony or join them.

She finished college in two years, getting a masters in engineering. She entered Starfleet, and survived Nero before joining the USS _Constellation_. And Q was dead the moment she put on her cadets uniform.

Because Sam Witwicky was back, and this time she wasn't going anywhere.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


	18. Homecoming Arc: VIII

**Last of the Homecoming arc! Yay!**

**Don't worry, we're moving straight into the next arc. It will take me a while to start posting it, because I have no idea where to go right now. **

**And suggestions are welcomed for the next arc, just know it takes place on Cybertron. **

**If you think I own either StarTrek or Transformers, there's something wrong with you.**

**Homecoming VIII**

After Sam finished, the two girls sat in silence by the beach. Neither looked at the other, but it wasn't needed. No words could be said after something like that, so why attempt to make some?

Eventually Sam turned to Vortex, "Not what you expected, am I right?"

"I did not expect anything," Vortex told her with a shrug, "You yourself said both sides in a war commit crimes. It seems to me that any crimes you committed were necessary for the situation."

Sam just shook her head, "I killed a lot of innocent people!"

"They murdered civilians," Vortex said softly, "They were no longer innocents. You saved many more people than you think. If you hadn't of fought back, none of these settlers would be so happy here."

Sam nodded slowly, but she still didn't smile, "I guess."

Getting to her feet, Sam began to head back the way they came from.

"Captain Kirk saved you, didn't he?" Vortex called back to her.

Sam paused at the trail, smiling weakly, "In more ways than you'll ever know."

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The rest of the week was crazy. No one was sure how it happened, but Starscream and Mabyn had become fast friends, mush to Megatron's horror and Vortex and Optimus's amusement.

Zeenia and Sam ended getting sucked up into the preparations for the festival. Zeenia helped cook while Sam ended up decorating. The Autobots interacted with Will and Epps mostly because of a furious Sam.

Epps and Will had decided to help her, and ended up setting a curtain on fire. Sam banded them from decorating. Because of that Will and Ironhide spent a lot of time together, while Epps just hung out with whoever was free.

Skywarp had been claimed by Sam to decorate, and no one could find Soundwave. Not that they looked very hard.

The only really interesting thing was that one day Optimus and Megatron disappeared for a while, and when they reappeared the Prime seemed very distressed. Will had noticed that after whatever meeting they had, Optimus watched Sam very closely. He wasn't sure if he was okay with that.

By the end of the week the planet was covered in flowers and vines. The day of the festival was spent with Zeenia kidnapping Sam and Vortex to get them ready. Mabyn would not join them because of her other duties that day.

"I am not particularly fond of this," Vortex announced as Zeenia zipped her into the sleeveless black dress she was being forced to wear for the evening.

"Don't talk," Sam snapped while pulling on her thigh high boots, glaring at them the whole time, "You don't have to wear nylons."

Zeenia rolled her eyes as she finished helping Vortex, "I don't get why you're both so annoyed. You look gorgeous, both of you."

And it was true. The black dress made Vortex look older, and Sam always looked better in her dress uniform than her regular one.

Zeenia couldn't help the proud smile working across her face at how pretty her girls were, "You're going to be the talk of the village tomorrow, mark my words."

Sam and Vortex both traded skeptical looks. With Vortex's father, and Sam's captain, they would be lucky to observe any males from at least a hundred yards away.

Zeenia scowled, recognizing the look for what it was, "Honestly you two. I assure you Megatron and Will are going to fine this evening. What's the worst that can…"

"Don't finish that," Sam begged as she wobbled to her feet and started for the door, "You're going to jinx us, I just know it,"

Zeenia huffed but herded Vortex after Sam as the three girls left the room. Vortex turned and scowled at Zeenia.

"Doctor, why did you not change?" Vortex asked softly as they started down the hallway.

Zeenia shrugged, looking content in her gray t-shirt and sweats, "Starfleet is calling me back in about an hour, so why bother?"

Sam frowned at that. The party started in an hour. Turning to stare at her friend, Sam noticed how Zeenia inclined her head.

Sam nodded to show her understanding on the message.

As they approached the end of the hallway, Sam turned and offered them a huge smile, "Well, I'll be seeing you tonight Vortex. And yes Zee, I'll come home for Thanksgiving." 

"You better," Zeenia groused while her hair turned black. The Beldan gathered Sam in for a hug, "I want you to come home for every holiday from now on. And if you don't, I'll be coming to you."

Sam hugged her back, smiling sadly, "I know. Take care mom."

And with that, Zeenia let go and headed back down the hallway.

Vortex stepped up next to Sam, an eyebrow raised, "Why did you call her mother?"

"Because she is my mother," Sam admitted, eyes misty, "She's always been there and taken care of me. And if you'll excuse me, I need to go meet with Will and Epps."

"I understand," Vortex held her hand out and Sam took it with a bright grin, "I will see you soon Lieutenant, if my father allows me out of his sight."

Sam laughed at that, and then they split up. Sam headed down her hallway, struggling not to frown. Her eyes landed on each and every decoration, a symbol of life on this death filled planet.

She couldn't have reached the room where Will as waiting any faster. Throwing open the doors, she rushed in. Sam sent Will and Epps a beaming smile as she approached the two soldiers.

They looked good, Sam admitted to herself. Dressed in red with gold trim, they offset her own cream colored uniform with red trim. They looked professional, like true soldiers. Will sent her a quick smile while Epps pulled her into a hug.

"Our little Sammy, all grown up," Epps fake sobbed, shaking Sam back and forth, "Soon she's going to get married to some nice guy, and have a lot of little babies…"

"Hold on there," Will ordered, eyes wild, "I'm not ready for her to get married yet."

"Of course he's not," Epps whispered and the two shared grins before Will glared.

"That's not why we're having this meeting," Will ran a hand through his hair before continuing, "As you know, there's an assassination attempt scheduled for tonight against Mabyn. I contacted Starfleet, and they've sent two members of the Resistance to deal with it. We're here to protect the princess."

Sam frowned, "Wait, there's a princess here? Since when?"

"If you hadn't been spending so much time with Jazz, you'd know that Starfleet has taken to calling Vortex the princess," Will reprimanded her gently before continuing, "Now, we're supposed to act like good representatives of Starfleet and mingle, but your first objective is the safety of Vortex. If you think she's in danger, act on it. Understood?"

"Sir yes sir!" both Sam and Epps chorused at the same time.

Will sent them both a nod, "Then let's roll out."

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The party was as boring as she expected it to be. It was boring and far too long.

Sam had hidden herself in a corner, content to watch the others talk while she held her drink in her hand. The moment she had noticed her father in the room, Sam had quickly retreated to the corner. Will and Epps were speaking with some counselors from Tarsus. The Decepticons seemed to be avoiding the whole mess and stayed to the opposite side of the room from Sam. Luckily everyone was too scared to approach them.

Sam had seen the Autobots in the crowd, but lost sight of them quickly. She was however keeping track of the Resistance leaders who stood near Mabyn. They were a pair, male and female in state of the art black body armor. And Sam knew exactly who they were. Earlier in the night they'd nodded to her, acknowledging her presence.

Sam smiled at who Starfleet had chosen to guard Mabyn. The assassins wouldn't know what hit them until after they died.

"That's a scary grin on your face Sammy girl."

She couldn't help the smile as she heard Jazz come up next to her.

"It's not as scary as…" Sam trailed off as she turned, seeing Bumblebee standing next to Jazz, "your…face… Hi, I'm Sam."

Bumblebee smiled at her, and Sam tried not to blush, "It's a pleasure Lieutenant. I've heard only good things about you from Jazz."

"He's lying to you," Jazz whispered in her ear, draping an arm around her shoulder, "I told them about all the horrible things you've done to me Lieutenant."

Sam smiled at him, thankful he was trying to make her more relaxed, "Oh really? Then tell me Bumblebee, did you know Jazz here is my sassy gay friend?"

Bumblebee raised an eyebrow at her, "That's impossible Lieutenant. Because it turns out Jazz is actually my sassy gay friend."

Both traded grins as Jazz protested to their unfair treatment. The conversation flowed between the three of them, only to pause shortly as Vortex joined in with them.

It suddenly seemed less boring to Sam as she laughed at a rather embarrassing story from Jazz about Bumblebee and a bucket of pink paint.

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Ironhide frowned as he studied the girl across the room from him, :Are you sure Optimus? Megatron could be lying about her.:

Optimus shook his head, :I assure you, he's not lying. Jazz told me earlier this week about it. She is Samuel.:

:Then why hasn't she told us?: Ironhide demanded, eyebrows furrowed, :Did she expect us to turn her away? Surely she knows better than that by now.:

:Samantha does not wish for us to mourn her death,: Optimus told him, :She fears that she will die on a mission and leave us again.:

Ironhide snorted, watching as Sam pushed Jazz gently while Vortex and Bumblebee laughed, :She is still as comfortable around them as she was before.:

:Indeed old friend,: Optimus's voice sounded much older, :But she holds so much anger now. The acts she was forced to perform to survive the massacre damaged her greatly. William Lennox and Robert Epps have been a great help to her.:

:Do they remember?: Ironhide asked, eyes distant.

:They do old friend,: Optimus rested a hand on his shoulder as their eyes traveled to the pair of soldier speaking to Mabyn, :No doubt they will admit it if asked. Sam always was the most stubborn human being I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.:

Their discussion was interrupted by a loud scream that came from the four individuals they had just been watching. Turning back, Ironhide was stunned to see a strange silver haired woman with her hands wrapped around Sam's throat.

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Will managed to get to Sam's side in record time. He wrapped his arms around the crazed woman's voice and pulled her off of Sam.

"Give her back!" the woman screamed, clawing at Sam still even as Will dragged her off of the stunned girl, "Give my daughter back! You stole her eyes, my little girl's eyes! Give them back to me!"

Will grunted as the lady slammed her elbow into his nose. His hands slipped and the woman screamed wildly before tackling Sam and clawing at her face.

"Give me my Samantha back you monster!" the woman screamed, "Give her back now! You killed her, and I want her back."

The woman screamed in rage as several guards grabbed her and dragged her forcibly from the room. Will helped Sam back to her feet, checking the poor girl over for any serious injuries. Besides some nasty looking scratches, she was fine.

"Are you alright?" Bumblebee asked Sam, placing a hand on her shoulder. Sam didn't answer, instead she wrapped her arms around her torso, looking rather young.

"Who was she?" Jazz demanded, glaring after the woman, "Crazy bitch."

"She's my mother," Sam whispered, pressing closer to Will, "Kind of funny that she never cared about me until I was adopted by Pike."

Vortex snorted, "You're wrong. You spoke to your true mother before this stupid event. That woman is a stranger to you."

Sam smiled weakly at the girl, "Thanks princess. I needed that."

Vortex scowled at the name, but before she could respond a silver haired man in an expensive outfit walked over to him. The large red scar on his cheek was the only distinguishing thing about him.

"Captain," the man bowed his head to Will, "I apologize on the behalf of Wisteria fir the attack to your soldier."

Will nodded, surprised, "Thank you Mr..."

"Brian Witwicky," he gave them a pleasant smile, one that caused shivers to travel down Will's spine. How was this man his sweet little (so she wasn't really that sweet…) Sam's father, "You must forgive her. It has been difficult since we lost our daughter Samantha."

Bumblebee frowned, "Isn't Lieutenant Witwicky your daughter?"

Brian raised an eyebrow, regarding Sam with disdain, "Young man, all I can see is Pike's whore."

Will wasn't sure when he moved. Later on, this will be the proudest moment in both of his lives. He'll get an award from Pike for this, and Ironhide will never let him forget it.

But in that moment, all Will saw was red and then his fist was connecting with Brian's nose.

"If you ever call my Lieutenant a whore again," Will yelled, not caring that everyone was staring at them, "I WILL kill you!"

Brian stood, glaring at him. No, Will realized after a moment, he's glaring at Sam.

"Then what shall I call her?" Brian demanded, spitting at Sam's feet, "Traitor? Because she did betray her government. Murderer? Or, the most fitting title, terrorist. She is all these three, and even more. But I will not continue, because this…thing shares blood with me and I will not disgrace myself with her anymore!"

"She's a decorated officer in Starfleet!" Will yelled, not noticing as Epps came up beside him, "If Sam's a disgrace, then what does that make you? Because I can assure you, she is more than you will ever be!"

And then all hell broke loose. A series of gunshots went off, and everybody dropped to the floor. Will turned, hoping he'd see his men. Epps was next to him, looking stunned, but Sam was missing.

And so was Vortex.

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The moment the gunshots went off, Sam grabbed Vortex's wrist and threw the girl behind a pillar. She ducked behind it also, before breaking the window they stood in front of.

"Go!" Sam ordered, pushing Vortex through the window before jumping after her. The two landed in a garden and Sam grabbed her wrist and they took off at a run across the garden.

Screams and gun shots sounded from the ballroom as Sam sprinted down the pathway.

"What the slag was that?" Vortex demanded, eyes wide.

"Assassination attempt," Sam yelled back as they ran, "It was meant for Mabyn, but I wanted to make sure you were out of there!"

Sam skidded to a halt as a figure dropped from a tree and landed in front of her. But she quickly grinned at seeing her old friend.

"Damn it Jim!" Sam snapped, punching the armored man on the shoulder, "Give a girl some warning!"

The figure laughed as he tossed Sam a pair of wickedly curved knives.

"Nice to see you too Sam," Jim called before nodding to Vortex, "Hey there kid. You're looking good in that dress."

"Thank you Captain Kirk," Vortex whispered, eyes wide.

"What's the situation?" Sam demanded as she spun the knives in her hand.

Jim cocked his head to the side, "Zeenia's got Mabyn covered. She's taken down one of the assassins. Only one more is left, and we think he's targeting the princess."

Sam nodded, "Understood. We should move."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

They turned, and froze seeing Wisteria standing there with a deranged smile on her face.

"Wisteria," Sam said as she stepped forward, "What are you doing?"

The woman cocked her head to the side, "They promised I'd get my Samantha back if I killed the girl. They said she took my daughter away…"

Wisteria opened up her jacket to reveal a bomb that was ticking down.

Sam's eyes widened as she realized there were only three seconds left on the timer.

"Run!" Jim screamed.

Then the world flashed white.

When the flash cleared, only one charred body was lying on the ground. Where the other three had stood were scorch marks that had blue electricity sparking in them.

Sam, Jim, and Vortex were gone.

**Please review!**

**Flames will be laughed at, then put out. **


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